Expanding the scope of pharmacists could lead to reduced lines in emergency rooms

If suddenly you find yourself terribly sick, you go straight to the nearest hospital and its emergency department. You want to receive a quick help – it is called “emergency” room for a reason. However, soon you find out that it is crowded and you will have to wait. Scientists from the University of Waterloo say that huge lines in emergency departments could be reduced by pharmacists.

Overcrowded emergency rooms are a huge problem everywhere in the world and Ontario, Canada, is no exception. Scientists say that huge lines in emergency rooms can lead to increased mortality and a higher rate of patients who leave without receiving treatment. And now scientists are saying that pharmacists who are more integrated into the community could actually help reducing those crowds. In fact, they could be working in emergency rooms too, because, as this new study found, one in five patients who seek emergency care have non-urgent health concerns. This problem takes doctor’s attention away from cases that actually require immediate attention.

A team of scientists analysed data from 2010 to 2017, looking for cases in emergency rooms that could be managed by pharmacists working with an expanded scope. What is that expanded scope? Well, Canada is a good example, although there are significant variations between different provinces. For example, in Alberta pharmacists are allowed to prescribe both independently and for minor ailments, renew prescriptions, administer injections, and more. In some other provinces the scope of pharmacists is a bit more strict, but even there they can administer vaccinations. This is not the case in many other countries, where pharmacists are merely cashiers in drug stores.

One might say that pharmacists are not qualified to make accurate diagnosis, but many emergency room cases are rather simple. There shouldn’t be a problem for a pharmacist to diagnose dermatitis, cough, inflammation of the ear canal, nasal passages, and throat. Wasem Alsabbagh, one of the scientists behind this study, said: “Our study included all expanded scope services in use across Canada when assessing which ED cases pharmacists could manage. Over the seven years of the study period, we found that pharmacists with an expanded scope could potentially have managed nearly 1.5 million cases in Ontario”.

Canada could be setting a good example for other countries. Pharmacists go through extensive education and training and it is a wasted potential if their jobs are limited to just selling drugs from the shelf. All countries should be looking into expanding scopes of pharmacists in order to reduce crowds in emergency rooms.

Source: University of Waterloo