"Shoppers Drug Mart billed the Ontario government's MedsCheck program $81.2 million for medication reviews over a two-year period when some of its current and former pharmacists said they were facing unethical corporate pressure to meet targets for the professional service. That total for the 2022-23 and 2023-24 fiscal years is $8 million more than the corporate pharmacy chain billed for the same services over the previous six years combined, according to data obtained by CBC News through a freedom of information request."
"Correlation is not causation, but the upswing in MedsChecks is remarkable given the downswing in revenues from things like COVID shots or other services that were allowed during COVID, said Aly Haji, a regulatory lawyer who specializes in pharmacy health-care law. It speaks to a larger problem around corporatization of healthcare, where the healthcare professional has dual loyalties, the loyalty to the corporation and their business, and the loyalty to the patient, which should always be paramount."
Shoppers Drug Mart billed Ontario's MedsCheck program $81.2 million for medication reviews in 2022-23 and 2023-24. That amount exceeds billing for the same services over the previous six years by $8 million, based on freedom-of-information data. Some current and former Shoppers pharmacists reported facing unethical corporate pressure to meet targets for professional services such as medication reviews. A regulatory lawyer noted the upswing in MedsChecks amid declining pandemic-era service revenues and raised concerns about corporatization creating dual loyalties for healthcare professionals. MedsCheck eligibility and provincial billing rates for reviews and follow-ups are specified.
Read at www.cbc.ca
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