2023-06-07

Chester business joins province’s community pharmacy-led primary care clinics

CHESTER – The Chester Pharmasave joins the Bridgewater Guardian Pharmacy as the second Lunenburg County site taking part in a year-long provincial government test of providing community pharmacy-led primary care clinics in the province.

The trial, which began earlier this year, sees pharmacists in participating clinics having dedicated time to see patients with common illnesses and those who're on medications for chronic diseases like diabetes, and cardiovascular and lung disease. Pharmacists at the pilot locations will also be able to prescribe and manage medications for diabetes, cardiovascular disease, asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

For those in the profession at the Chester Pharmasave, it's a chance to offer more daily services, the business's pharmacy manager Geoff Plant said. Pharmacists, like Plant, like the expanded scope of practice, broader collaboration with colleagues and the opportunities it presents for the public.

"I can tell there are some patients who are without a family doctor and this serves as a continuity of care," Plant said. "We don't replace a family doctor because a family doctor serves a vital role in the health care system, but I think we're excited to be able to provide the care that we can and fill gaps that we can.

"It's really about supporting all aspects of health care, including expanding pharmacist services and using it to its full potential."

Some help that wasn't publicly-funded now is - and provided free of charge to patients. Pharmacists at the community clinics can also provide care for strep throat, including testing, diagnosis and treatment, something that had not been previously available through pharmacies.

"We already get good feedback from the services we do offer and this (new program) is going to resonate and increase it," Plant added. "I'm expecting positive feedback.

Pharmacies under the pilot project will receive additional funding for providing added care, including assessing and prescribing for 31 minor ailments such as minor joint and muscle pains, eczema, cold sores and heartburn.

Chester-St. Margaret's MLA Danielle Barkhouse said the program offered by the Highway 3 business should have positive impacts on her constituents. "It's going to see the strain taken off of places like Our Health Centre and the walk-in clinic there," the Progressive Conservative backbencher said. "Anything we can add to the system for health care is going to relieve the pressure."

The first 12 community pharmacy primary care clinics in the province launched in February; one of which was established in Lunenburg County.

The Guardian Pharmacy in the South Shore Medical Arts Building on Glen Allan Drive had been the sole entity in Lunenburg or Queens counties participating in a one-year test orchestrated by Nova Scotia's Department of Health and Wellness until the Chester Pharmasave signed on.