A new survey suggests pharmacists should do more to help face the challenge of the province’s aging population.
According to the New Brunswick Pharmacists’ Association, the survey showed that one the province’s top concerns is the impact the aging population will have on healthcare.
With the rising number of seniors in the province, 86 per cent of New Brunswickers see this an extremely or very serious issue as hospitals struggle to meet high volumes of patients. Many believe pharmacists are underused in our healthcare system and should do more to help by offering their resources to help patients directly.
New Brunswick Pharmacists’ Association’s executive director, Paul Blanchard says pharmacists are well positioned to help reduce emergency room wait times.
“Even the minister saying not long ago that there’s a shortage of healthcare professionals and there’s a story out the Moncton hospital that the emergency room is overcrowded and is are certainly people there that could be treated at the pharmacy directly. What we are seeing in the survey is that people support that, generally,” says Blanchard.
Blanchard says allowing pharmacists to have more authority gives patients more options when it comes to healthcare.
