Developing a plan for the new year
In the fall of 2024, the BC Pharmacy Association’s Board of Directors reviewed the organization’s mission and vision and developed a strategic plan to guide the organization through 2025.
In November, the Association’s Board of Directors approved the Association’s 2025 operating plan, which will focus on four strategic directions:
- Advocate for paid pharmacy services that support the sustainability of pharmacies across the province.
- Support the transition of pharmacy services in B.C. to provide enhanced professional satisfaction and best patient care.
- Provide value and excellence in Association services that meet the needs of pharmacists and pharmacy members.
- Support pharmacists to meet appropriate standards of Indigenous Cultural Safety and Humility.
Selecting the 2025 Board of Directors
In October, BC Pharmacy Association members took to the polls to elect three pharmacists. Members elected Livia Chan, Regional Manager, Pharmacy Operations at Save-On-Foods; Bless Morales, Regional Manager, Pharmacy Operations, at Pattison Food Group; and re-elected Kylee Power, Ownership Group Member at Central Drug Stores Ltd.
The BCPhA Board of Directors also appointed Julie Ford, owner of Pharmasave Aberdeen, to serve for a three-year term.
Starting Jan. 1, 2025, Colleen Hogg, owner of Cove Pharmacy and Gold River Pharmacy, will serve as the Chair of the Association, while Kylee Power of the Central Drugs Stores Ltd. will serve as Vice-Chair. Mike Huitema, BCPhA Chair for 2024, will serve as Past Chair.
Working with the government after a new provincial election
In fall 2024, the Association approached B.C.’s newly appointed Health Minister Josie Osborne as the first step in continuing the Association’s collaborative relationship with the provincial Ministry of Health.
While under new leadership following the provincial election, the Ministry of Health has worked closely with the Association for years, and the Association is ready to continue growing this relationship. The Association is also engaging with the 56 newly elected Members of the Legislative Assembly, many of whom are entering politics for the first time.
Engaging our membership: survey results
From May 15 to June 2, members were surveyed through Ipsos about scope expansions. A total of 640 members participated in the survey. Key findings include:
- Nine-in-ten (88%) members have completed an assessment/prescribed for a minor ailment
- Most (90%) members have had positive experiences prescribing for minor ailments (4% negative experiences)
- Three-in-four (74%) members have completed an assessment/prescribed for contraception.
- Most (86%) members have had positive experiences prescribing for contraception (4% negative experiences)
- Seven-in-ten members say they would like to permit pharmacists to initiate a prescription for previously diagnosed chronic conditions (69%) and to increase the number of minor ailments that pharmacists can prescribe for (67%)
- One-third (33%) would like to permit pharmacists to initiate a prescription for conditions without a prior diagnosis, and one-quarter (25%) would like to adjust and restart OAT treatment
From July 29 to Aug. 31, the Association conducted an all-member survey to provide feedback on the Association’s performance and services. One-quarter of all BCPhA members (1,000 people) took part in the survey.
The survey sought to identify what members perceived as the current biggest challenges for the profession, the most important issues that the Association should address, members’ feedback on how the Association is performing, members’ thoughts on the value of a BCPhA membership, how members would like to be communicated to, feedback on the bcpharmacy.ca website, members’ thoughts on becoming involved with Association activities, and more.
The results of the survey were published in December 2024. Members can access the results by visiting bcpharmacy.ca/membership-surveys.
Implementing ongoing improvements to the fall immunization program
The BC Pharmacy Association continued to advocate for and support further improvements to the administration of the fall immunization program. During the past season, the Association confirmed the fall program start date earlier, advocated for an increased supply of vaccines, and continued to work closely with health authorities with planning appointment capacity to support community pharmacies. As a result of your hard work and these improvements to the program, pharmacies provided more than 80 per cent of all vaccinations this fall.
A record 1,385 pharmacies signed up through the Association to deliver influenza and COVID-19 vaccinations for the 2024/25 season. While the number of vaccinations province-wide were lower than last year for both influenza and COVID-19, the program had a record-breaking start, during which pharmacies delivered more vaccines in a single day and single week than in any previous year.
Delivering a successful in-person annual conference
Following three years of successful virtual conferences with record attendances, the Association pivoted back to an in-person event on May 31, 2024. The 2024 Annual Conference was accredited with attendees eligible to earn up to 6.0 CEUs. Members could choose to attend the in-person conference at the Hyatt Regency Hotel for a fee, or attend virtually for free — the cost of the virtual portion of the conference was included with membership.
We saw nearly 800 guests join in-person or virtually on May 31, 2024. The 250 guests that attended in-person enjoyed a day of learning, networking, great food, and the celebration of pharmacy achievements during the evening awards gala.
Supporting the business of rural pharmacies
In 2024, the Association connected with Members of the Legislative Assembly in the government’s rural caucus to help bring attention to our proposal to support rural pharmacists. A list of recommendations was developed through a Rural Pharmacy Working Group that identified critical challenges pharmacists in rural communities are facing.
The following are the priority recommendations the Association is making to help address the challenges in rural pharmacy workforce, business sustainability and professional development:
- Establishing clear criteria for defining a rural community pharmacy in B.C.
- Including rural pharmacists in provincial health-care planning
- Developing incentive programs to attract pharmacists to long-term rural pharmacy positions
- Incentivize new grads to practice in rural pharmacy through a student loan forgiveness program and a rural bursary undergraduate program
- Developing a rural locum funding program
- Modernize the existing Rural Incentive Program to support all rural areas
- Developing funding to support rural pharmacists’ professional development
- Allowing increased use of virtual telepharmacy services in rural areas
Seeking public support for expansion of scope
To help determine the public’s reception to expanded pharmacy services such as prescribing for minor ailments and contraception, and its appetite for a further increase to the pharmacists’ scope, the Association polled the public in April 2024. The survey found that nearly 90 per cent of respondents said they support community pharmacists being able to offer more patient care services like the ability to order lab tests and provide point-of-care testing for things like strep throat in pharmacy.
Poll results are available at bcpharmacy.ca/news/2024publicpoll.