Partnering with Sobeys and Lawtons Drugs to Increase Access to care Closer to Home However, from a clinical care perspective, community pharmacists are well positioned to play a larger role in providing high quality, collaborative care in communities. Historically, community pharmacies have not been well integrated into the broader Nova Scotia Health system, in that they do not have access to the same tools, technologies, or workflows used by most providers which are designed to navigate patients into Nova Scotia Health programs and services. Throughout Nova Scotia, there are more than 300 community pharmacies and more than 1,000 certified pharmacists. An Opportunity for Community Pharmacists to Play a Larger Role The scarcity of available resources has necessitated the coupling of unconventional pairings (teams) of healthcare professionals to build models of high-quality care to suit community and patient needs. There is an immediate need to deploy new and innovative healthcare models to increase capacity, particularly in rural areas of Nova Scotia. Emergency departments are treating patients seeking non urgent care and hospitals have been forced to close emergency departments because of staff shortages. Lack of timely and appropriate access to health care has resulted in a depleted focus on disease prevention and comprehensive disease management for patients with complex needs. There is significant demand for health services in Nova Scotia communities and about 10% of Nova Scotians are currently unattached, meaning they do not have a primary care provider. Like the rest of Canada, Nova Scotia is amidst a health worker shortage. The model elevates the clinical scope of both pharmacists and nurse practitioners, and pairs them in a clinical setting to offer comprehensive care and a quality patient experience. Through partnership, the Nova Scotia Health Innovation Hub and Sobeys and Lawtons Drugs launched test-and-try walk-in clinics to explore a collaborative care model to provide Nova Scotians greater access to timely and appropriate health care closer to home. A first of its kind in Canada, the Pharmacist Walk-in Clinic+ (PWIC+) launched in February 2022, by Sobeys and Lawtons Drugs and Nova Scotia Health.
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