As part of the governments new primary health-care strategy, the Ministry of Health is adding 50 new clinical pharmacists around the province.
The Ministry is supporting the UBC pharmacists program with $23 million over three years to recruit, train and coordinate clinical pharmacists and integrated them into the health-care system.
“I actually think the value in the Northern communities will be even greater,” says Adrian Dix, Minister of Health. “The UBC program they have a strong link in First Nation communities and diverse First Nation communities in the province. That’s what the program is already and that’s what it’s going to continue to be.”
“Embedding a clinical pharmacist in a patient’s primary-care team reduces the risk of adverse drug reactions, which rises with the complexity of the condition, a patient’s frailty, age and the number of medications prescribed. According to recent figures, over 600,000 British Columbians have a chronic medical condition of medium or high complexity, and 20% of those over 70 take at least five or more medications a day,” added Dix.
On May 24th, the provincial government introduced a three-year plan to fund nearly 200 practitioners in a team-based model.
Prince George is one of the first of five to received this network.
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