Unheard of. Incredible. Distinguished. Instrumental. Phenomenal. These are words used to describe Akarsha Bhat Mairaje from those who have received his care or worked with him. 

Barely a year has passed since he opened Shuswap Valley Pharmacy, but Mairaje has already made a deep impact on the health of patients in his community, and to the professional practices of his colleagues. His pharmacy is located in Salmon Arm, adjacent to the Trans Canada Highway, between Kamloops and Vernon. 

The city is considered a rural community with an economy centred on forestry. It’s known as a popular summer destination for travellers, but like many other places in British Columbia, the community has also felt the haunting of the toxic drug crisis, the weight of a health-care worker shortage, and the growing needs of an aging population. 

The opening of his pharmacy was welcomed by the community with open arms. Those who step inside are greeted by his energetic voice. 

“Call me AK,” he tells everyone. His pharmacy has room for two physicians to set up offices. Since the January 2025 opening, he has developed close relationships with workers at recovery centres, doctors, and nurses in the community. Soon, patients began referring friends, physicians referred their patients, and public health facilities relied on his services because of his generous pharmacy hours. 

People are used to seeing a pharmacy as somewhere you just pick up prescriptions. I had to break that barrier and tell them: We do a lot more. We provide more services. Whatever I can do within my scope of practice, I try to do it as much as possible to help people.

— Akarsha Bhat Mairaje

“Physicians here, they are having a hard time giving care to some patients who are unable to come to their clinic, so I looked at what I could do to help. For example, some patients need assistance for their insulin shots, while others can’t come to the pharmacy for their daily doses, so I’d go to them,” Mairaje said. 

“We also have a lot of patients who are on long-acting antipsychotic injections, but they can’t make it to the mental health unit for their injections. I coordinated with their nurses and these patients can now choose to come to me anytime without worrying about missing their appointments.”

Patients who know him appreciate how he’s always available by phone, even when other health providers don’t pick up. One person described that while health care has become more “plastic”, he brings back the human approach. Physicians appreciate his willingness to provide minor ailment assessments. Those who work in addictions recovery describe him as one of the best pharmacists they’ve ever worked with, and his fellow pharmacists and assistants see him as a mentor who never rests.  

“It takes a lot of knowledge and a lot of work to make people understand what we do,” he said. “In the beginning, there was a little bit of hesitancy about approaching the new pharmacist. People are used to seeing a pharmacy as somewhere you just pick up prescriptions. I had to break that barrier and tell them: We do a lot more. We provide more services. Whatever I can do within my scope of practice, I try to do it as much as possible to help people.”

Mairaje first moved to Canada in 2014 as an International Pharmacy Graduate and grew his experience working in rural communities, including Trail and Hope, along with various pharmacies across the Lower Mainland. 

“I started here as a pharmacy assistant while waiting to get all the required exams and credentials. I learned the Canadian way, how pharmacies here work, how patient care here works. Once I had enough knowledge, I started realizing what is lacking to better care for patients’ needs. I realized to fulfill that, the only way I could do it is by having my own pharmacy,” he said. 

“Every person has a different requirement, every patient. I tend to follow up and I tend to talk to each patient, to discuss what we have done previously, and to be there to better understand what they’re looking for.”