It will all depend on the lengths that Ontario goes to. In Alberta, the two independent pharmacies I had been to were both big proponents of the fee-for-service system. They both were fully prepared for additional services even before the fee-for-service initiative came into place, but that's how they competed with the major chains. That's the case for a lot more independent pharmacies than you think: they have to offer something better than the major chains in order to compete and stay afloat.

What I mean, though, is most people interested in the additional services of pharmacies already go to pharmacies that offer those services. If this plan of Ontario's goes through, SDM and the other major chains are going to have to "steal" these people from the pharmacies that already offer those services. That's pretty tough to do, considering that these people tend to be pretty loyal. And what are the major chains going to do to compete? They can't really. They can't offer those services for less because they are free to the patient anyway. They can advertise to recruit new people who are interested in those services... that's about it. At least to begin with, the major chains will be hurt more than the independents that currently offer additional services. Unless if Ontario carries through with their current plan of taking $650 million from the industry. In that case, only the major chains and only the most successful independents would be able to handle the blow.

---

BMSc Honours Specialization in Medical Science, Minor in Psychology UWO '09
Bachelor of Pharmacy University of Alberta '13

Taking 750 million. I don't consider the 100 million 'giving' since it has a condition attached to it so simple arithmetic (750-100) don't apply. On top of that, the 750 million is taken away from current services and the 100 million isn't going into current services, but is an arbitrary number that will go up for additional services such as vaccinations.



This is what I'm going at. But, Ontario isn't offering payment for these services - one of the pharmacies I have connections to has already made arrangements for removing their free blood pressure machine. On top of that, pharmacists with training to do specialized services are even more expensive to hold on to. The government has no plans on reimbursing for these services that I know of, and are definitely not in the new legislation.

---

Alberta's changes were tolerable because they were not as severe as Ontario's. Personally, I think that Ontario's coming at this hard so they can reduce it a bit and go "See? We made a compromise." in order to lower the hit they'll take from doing this.

The idea behind the 'cuts', regulating how pharmacies get money from generics is fair, but only if the government actually pays Ontario pharmacies for the services they offer. Back in 2006, the government made cuts to pharmacies and told the pharmacies to find another source of funding. They created, regulated and encouraged professional allowances to make up for their own funding gap. Now they want to take it away.... they're reopening the funding gap from back in 2006 and not replacing it with anything else (except a handful of dollars for more work). You can see why pharmacists are upset.

---

A question for all students looking to towards pharmacy:

Don't you think you'll get bored of the job?

---

Queens Science 2014

I don't think I will get bored of it. Will I lose interest in it? Most likely, but I won't be bored by it.

And it is rewarding, especially if you're willing to go above and beyond simply dispensing. The Alberta government is currently conducting a survey on how useful a pharmacist can be in providing additional services such as counseling and educating. It was really rewarding to hear patients who thought the services we provided at the pharmacy I did my practicum at really helped them in managing their condition(s) and were more than willing to put their name on a call list to support this fact.

---

BMSc Honours Specialization in Medical Science, Minor in Psychology UWO '09
Bachelor of Pharmacy University of Alberta '13

Could I be a pharmacist if I go to Waterloo Life Sci next year and still don't get CAP ?

Does anyone know about the cuts being made in B.C?... I see that Ontario's are HUGE.. hopefully they can negotiate that a bit.

---

UBC '14

B.C. will be making similar changes soon. Given that B.C. is not as well off as Ontario, is more liberal, and has a similarly aging population, I expect B.C. to make just as significant, if not larger, cuts than Ontario. Though they might learn from Ontario's mistake.

---

BMSc Honours Specialization in Medical Science, Minor in Psychology UWO '09
Bachelor of Pharmacy University of Alberta '13

That makes sense, no wonder the Alberta cuts were bearable, Alberta is pretty rich and conservative compared to the rest. Let's just hope that the Ontario cuts are somehow changed, and then maybe other provinces won't feel as though they should cut so much either....

By the way, how much of a difference would these cuts make to the average pharmacist's income? Let's say a pharmacist is currently able to make ~90-100 grand per year, how much would they be looking at after the cuts have been made?

---

UBC '14

Don't quote me on this, but I believe SDM is decreasing hourly wages for new contracts to $35/hour in Ontario. That's a 9-10 dollar decrease from the old standard. My source of information is pretty reliable, too, so I'm pretty sure that's not an exaggeration.

So yeah, the cuts have a direct affect on salary.

EDIT: To directly answer the salary question, then, the new salary is ~70K (assuming $35/hour * 40 hours/week * 50 weeks/year)