George Daskalakis

Committee advances PBM bill keeping CVS, others from having retail pharmacies. We need this in Ontario. Ban PBM opaque financial schemes and patient steering. talkbusiness.net/2025/04/com…

#OntarioElection #Pharmacists and access to primary care services is an important part of the solution. Pharmacists should be practicing to full scope.

#Pharmacists are not a band-aid solution and deserve to be respected for the education and expertise they bring in helping manage patients in collaboration with other healthcare professionals. It is disappointing to hear another health profession raise the spectre of unfounded patient safety risks, conflicts of interest and lack of competency. There is more than one model of care than the one being purported by OMA which is controlled by a physician. Pharmacists and patients are no different in Ontario than they are in every other jurisdiction that has enabled this safely and effectively. It would be great to focus on collaboration and a patient-centred approach rather than disparage pharmacy professionals with misleading messages.

Pharmacists are not a band-aid solution and just like every other healthcare provider they are part of a broader solution and should be respected as such. Building health system capacity requires multiple investments including pharmacist scope of practice and not just under the control of a doctor. We support the need for continued investment in primary care including paying doctors appropriately and creating conditions to hire more. This does not come at the expense of ALL other healthcare providers being able to do what they are educated to do and yes pharmacists do have this training. Some Ontario doctors will have you believe that Ontario patients and pharmacists are different than every other province that has safely enabled this scope of practice but the truth is they are not any different and there is no conflict of interest, no safety concerns - and beyond the rhetoric - no evidence to support these assertions. Suggesting otherwise is a disparaging swipe at the integrity of pharmacy professionals. We can support each other without fear mongering and if you actually look at the scope, this is not pharmacists equaling what doctors do and we are not advocating for that.