Last week, on March 23, Rita Lyster of Rita’s Apothecary &Home Healthcare Ltd. found out the pharmacy that she founded would no longer be the pharmacy of choice for Shepherd’s Care. In fact residents of the 42-unit supportive care facility, will now be getting their medications from an Edmonton-based pharmacy, Pharmacare.
Shepherd’s Care is a facility which allows its residents to live in private suites while at the same time receiving meals, cleaning services and a 24-hour nursing care. The Shepherd’s Care Foundation (SCF) operates the facility, and besides the Barrhead location, operates six other facilities in the Edmonton area.
“Basically the letter thanked us for our ongoing support, but said as of April 21, 2016, Pharmacare Pharmacy would take over pharmacy service in Shepherd’s Care in Barrhead,” she said, adding her pharmacy has provided pharmacy services for the bulk of the residents in Shepherd’s Care for some time.
Pharmacare Pharmacy is part of Pharmacare Fulfillment Centre Ltd, an Edmonton-based leading specialty pharmacy business operating under the Care Plus, Pharmacare and Lidia’s Pharmacy brands (collectively, the “Care Plus Group”). The Care Plus Group provides medication-dispensing services and clinical care programs to more than 4,800 long-term care and retirement community residents at over 40 client facilities across western Canada through an integrated distribution model. Lyster said the foundation’s decision came as a complete surprise, adding that representatives from the Shepherd’s Care Foundation visited her store in the fall and told her the pharmacy was the facility’s preferred pharmacy.
Basically that means if anyone new came into Shepherd’s Care without a regular pharmacy, their medication needs would be filled by Rita’s Apothecary. Anyone who had a pharmacy already and preferred to keep dealing with them were allowed to do so.
During their visit the Shepherd’s Care representatives asked Lyster about the types of services the pharmacy had provided to the facility in the past.
Lyster also received a call from Natalie Nanninga, who was then Shepherd’s Care Barrhead site manager, asking her as well as all the other pharmacies in Barrhead, what types of services they were able and willing to give.
“For example, if someone was palliative and had hours or days to live, would we be willing to give 24-hour care and be available around the clock to provide any medication that would be required,” she said.
One of the reasons why the foundation’s representatives were asking local pharmacies about their capabilities was that they were moving towards a system where one pharmacy would provide all the medications for a facility.
“It’s less confusing and ultimately it results in less drug errors and it is a positive benefit to the residents,” Lyster said, adding they told her she would be invited to submit a Request For Proposal (RFP) when that time came.
Since that time Lyster, periodically checked in with the foundation asking if the RFP had been tendered, each time being told no.
“So can you imagine my surprise, when instead of receiving a letter of invitation for an RFP, I am given this letter?” she asked.
After receiving the letter, Lyster, through social media (Facebook), voiced her surprise and disappointment that local pharmacies would not be allowed to bid for the contract.
After reading Lyster’s Facebook post, she received a copy of a letter Edith Yuill wrote to SCF’s CEO John Pray. During the time the foundation was looking to come to the area, Yuill was a Barrhead town councillor.
“At that time you promised council that you would use local services in building, staffing, etc. of the facility. Now I hear that your Board of Directors have chosen to go against that promise and provide pharmacy services from outside of Barrhead,” she writes. “We have many pharmacists and pharmacies in Barrhead that are more than capable of providing the services that the Barrhead facility requires, but they were not even approached for a RFP “request for proposal” which is so disturbing to me and the former council members.”
Lyster noted she has no monetary interest in SCF’s decision. In February of this year she sold the pharmacy to concentrate more on her first love of being a pharmacist, but takes it as a personal affront to the pharmacies in Barrhead.
“I understand you (SCF) only want one pharmacy, and I don’t mind losing to my colleagues in Barrhead, but I think this is a slight to all the pharmacists in Barrhead,” she said. “You’ve got the skills here and you made this promise and all I’m asking for is to give the pharmacies in Barrhead a chance.”
Lyster also has concerns about the quality of patient care due to having a pharmacy that isn’t located in the same area as the facility.
“We are local and can respond to a patient’s need almost immediately. In addition we have a relationship established with all our physicians and more importantly we know the residents so we can respond to their needs better,” Lyster said. “This is the question I would like to ask the Shepherd’s Care Foundation and Pharmacare. If a person needs a prescription for an infection at 5 p.m. How long will it take for them to provide it? And if they can’t look after them in a timely manner what kind of stress is it going to put on other parts of the health care system? Would that person need to be admitted to the hospital and have the ER provide it? These are the types of questions we need to ask and need answers to.”
SCF will be hosting an informational session for Shepherd’s Care residents and their families on April 11.
