Sherif Guorgui
Co-CEO,
OnPharm-United
Pharmacy professionals’ roles are continually expanding, but ensuring a sustainable business model is critical to support patient care and strengthen the healthcare system.
Pharmacy professionals across Canada are taking on more active roles in patient care, which is good news for patients and the long-term sustainability of our health care system. Since January of 2023, pharmacists in Ontario can assess and prescribe medications for minor ailments, starting with 13 conditions and expanding to 19 as of October 2023. Over one million assessments conducted, helping to reduce strain on clinics, hospitals, and emergency rooms. “As pressures on Canada’s healthcare system continue to grow, independent pharmacies are stepping up,” says Sherif Guorgui, Co-CEO of OnPharm-United, a network of 600 independent pharmacies across Ontario. “The expansion of scope and services has improved patient access to timely and convenient care. The strong public uptake reinforces the value and vital role of community pharmacy as a trusted, healthcare hub.”
As pressures on Canada’s health care system
continue to grow, independent pharmacies are stepping up.
Investing in pharmacies
The continuous expansion of pharmacy scope of practice nation-wide can assist in the sustainability, accessibility, and efficiency of our country’s health care system while ensuring better care and health outcomes for patients, many of whom do not have a primary care physician or experience long wait times to see theirs. However, investing in pharmacies to ensure a sustainable long-term business model is essential.
“Independent pharmacies face a number of challenges, including rising operational costs, stagnant funding and insufficient reimbursement, as well as the growing influence of preferred provider networks that restrict patient choice and impact patient care,” says Guorgui. “Ensuring sustainability requires fair, transparent and equitable funding models, strong regulatory support, and policies that safeguard patient care, access and choice.”
It is our responsibility to tell our own story.
“It is our responsibility to tell our own story,” says Guorgui. “The future of pharmacy depends on ensuring that policymakers, payers, and the public fully understand, recognize and support the essential role pharmacy professionals play in keeping their communities safe and healthy.”
To learn more, visit onpharmunited.ca.
