**URGENT: DRUG SYSTEM REGULATIONS**

June.7, 2010

Click here for an overview of the provincial regulations as outlined on the Ministry of Health's Website.

KEY FACTS

- Pharmacists are devastated by Health Minister Deb Matthews’ announcement. It confirms that front-line healthcare remains at serious risk. It further confirms that the voices of patients and pharmacists across Ontario have been ignored.

- The McGuinty government has, since April 7, waged a calculated campaign to continuously malign and vilify pharmacists with dishonest and misleading portrayals of the facts regarding professional allowances and their legitimate, regulated use in funding the patient care that pharmacists provide. This is offensive to all pharmacists and a betrayal of the trust of Ontario voters.

- Pharmacists refuse to accept such a poor outcome for patients and will continue to advocate for continued patient care. Less healthcare for the people of this Ontario is unacceptable.

- There has been a complete lack of transparency in this so called consultation process, together with a failure to demonstrate any concern about protecting access to front-line community healthcare that pharmacists provide, and the continued unwillingness by the Minister of to meet with all key pharmacy stakeholders on a workable solution.

- The government’s decision to expand the MedsCheck program and establish a transition fund for pharmacies are sound concepts but the funding level is woefully inadequate to help offset the impact to front-line healthcare of the massive $750 million healthcare cut.

- The massive funding cut means that patients will have less access to front-line healthcare and that the government had no intention of using their consultation period to listen to pharmacists and consider alternative solutions to deliver on their policy objectives.

- Sadly, pharmacists will now be forced to make very difficult choices, as they evaluate the level of care they will be able to continue to provide and try to keep their doors open. Pharmacists deeply regret and resist having to make these kinds of choices buts because they ultimately affect those who need them the most and are the most vulnerable in our communities - including seniors and the chronically ill.

- Over time, patients will inevitably experience reductions in clinic services, evening and weekend pharmacy hours and direct access to pharmacists will be limited as a result of the cuts.

- Pharmacy offered a number of workable solutions to the government’s policy objectives and negotiated in good faith for nine months. We showed the McGuinty government how they could save hundreds of millions of dollars through lower generic drug prices, the elimination

of professional allowances, the implementation of better drug utilization management practices, all while protecting front-line healthcare services pharmacists provide with fair and transparent funding.

- Ontario’s Community Pharmacists continue to call on the Minister to meet with all pharmacy stakeholders to plan a responsible reinvestment in direct funding of front-line healthcare and a transition implementation processes that won’t pose a larger risk to front-line community healthcare.