Third-Party
Payers
Pharmacy and private insurers have a long history of working together to provide safe medication care to Canadians in a timely and affordable way. As highly trained, regulated health professionals, pharmacists’ top priorities are the safety of their patients and providing personalized care to each person who comes into the pharmacy. At the same time, pharmacists and their teams often act as intermediaries between insurance plans and their patients, and they are spending an increasing amount time administering plans, which takes them away from direct patient care.
We know that pharmacy practice can impact plan member experiences and that insurer policies have a direct impact on both pharmacy practice and patient care. CPhA is committed to representing pharmacy issues with private payers, as well as supporting them in navigating private plans. We work closely with a variety of stakeholders to enable better collaboration and innovative partnerships that lead to better access to medications and pharmacy services for all Canadians.
Our current priorities
Regulating private health and benefit insurers and pharmacy benefit managers
Across Canada, private health and benefit insurers and the pharmacy benefit managers (PBM) that act on their behalf are increasingly directing how and where patients receive their care. This practice of ‘patient steering’ has been highlighted in recent media stories and raises significant concerns that necessitate immediate attention and action.