This edition is a reminder of how far our profession has come. Each day at work, we see numerous patients who could be coming to our pharmacy for different reasons, whether it’s to receive a vaccine, to drop off their prescriptions for their medications, for a consultation, and so much more.
To hear it put into numbers is quite amazing. The record number of more than 102 million prescriptions dispensed last year means that we, as community pharmacists, on average dispensed 24,000 medications each. We have not slowed down on our dispensing role despite all the clinical services we now provide for our patients, and the numbers make it clear the profession is more important to caring for the health of our patients than it has ever been.
When concerns in public health arise, pharmacists are among the first in line to help, and people recognize this. Just look at the latest cases of measles outbreaks in the province and our role as immunizers in stopping this vaccine-preventable disease. Our trust with our patients and the public is hard-won, and I’d like to think that our profession in the eyes of the public has never been held in higher esteem.
For me, this year marks my 30th year as a community pharmacist. At the time of my graduation from the University of British Columbia in 1995, I never imagined that our scope of practice would expand to the extent that it has. And that’s why it gives me great joy that my daughter, who graduated this year with her Doctor of Pharmacy, is now entering the profession at such an exciting time.
To our members, I want you to know that we are not planning to rest on our laurels. The Association is currently looking ahead and is involved in ongoing discussions with the government on many topics, including moving forward with a pharmacy clinic model in B.C., advocating for the sustainability of rural pharmacy practice, continuing to expand the prescribing scope to include stable, chronic diseases, making the case to fund point-of-care testing, advocating for an increase in core funding, and more.
I also want to thank our Minister of Health, Josie Osborne, for her remarks to members at our annual conference in May and in this edition of the magazine. It was a pleasure to meet her at the conference and at the legislature, and to discuss how our profession can help meet the government’s goals of delivering excellent health care for British Columbians.
Colleen Hogg
Chair, 2025
BC Pharmacy Association