Pharmacists told to
prove added value
Pharmacists planning to take the lead in controlling drug-plan costs need to demonstrate their profession's value to third-party payers, employer groups and government, participants attending a pharmacy-affairs forum hosted by the Canadian Pharmaceutical Association (CPA) were told recently. A business executive from J.D. Irving Ltd. said employers are willing to discuss drug-use-management strategies with pharmacists, but few businesses have recognized the added value pharmacists say they provide. A representative from the New Brunswick government agreed, saying pharmacists are in an enviable position for providing solutions to escalating drug-plan costs, but they must show they provide cost-effective health outcomes.
"We must work in partnership with government, third-party payers, other health care professionals and patients if we are to find solutions to the drug-use-management problem," Bill Wilson, the CPA president, said following the Moncton, NB, forum. "We must seek out our primary role and niche in the marketplace as drug and patient care experts. If we don't, somebody else will."
| CMAJ May 15, 1996 (vol 154, no 10) |