New Brunswick Pharmacists Can Now Access Funds to Treat “High-Risk” Tick Bites

November 8, 2023

https://www2.gnb.ca/content/gnb/en/news/news_release.2023.10.0498.html

Pharmacists now able to treat another common ailment

03 October 2023

FREDERICTON (GNB) – The provincial government is adding to the list of common ailments that pharmacists are publicly funded to treat, as part of an effort to give New Brunswickers better access to care. Starting today, pharmacists are funded to treat conjunctivitis, sometimes referred to as “pink eye.” This follows an announcement in May that residents could access publicly funded care from participating pharmacies for the following conditions: contact allergic dermatitis; cold sores; mild to moderate eczema; gastroesophageal reflux disease; impetigo; Lyme disease prevention after a high-risk tick bite; and mild acne. The Department of Health estimates 1,100 patients visited a walk-in clinic for conjunctivitis in the past year. “We know that many families are affected by conjunctivitis, and they need to see someone for relief,” said Health Minister Bruce Fitch. “To ensure that New Brunswickers can see the right care provider for the right service at the right time, we are working with our highly skilled pharmacists, who care for people in their communities, to make it easier to access these needed services.” Pharmacists in Quebec, Ontario and Saskatchewan are already able to treat conjunctivitis. New Brunswick pharmacists are now able to assess and prescribe for 12 common ailments and services to divert patient traffic from emergency rooms, walk-in clinics or other primary care providers. More information about publicly funded services that pharmacists can offer is available online. People are advised to ask their local pharmacist which services are available, as it is not mandatory for every pharmacist to treat all minor ailments. While the cost of the consultation for certain ailments is covered, patients are still responsible for the cost of prescribed medications, as well as any fees for injections provided by pharmacy professionals. 

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**Comment**

IMO this press release opens a big can of worms.

What is a high-risk tick bite?

Similarly to the mythology that there is some sort of “grace period” for tick bites, every tick bite I’m aware of has the potential to be highly risky in that you could become infected with one or more pathogens that could drop you to your knees in agony and deplete you of all your money and joy.  

The fact they are listing Lyme disease, pink eye, eczema, impetigo and gastric reflux in the same sentence shows this is still not being taken seriously.  

The article admits that Lyme disease is a “common” ailment, but gives far more weight to pink eye!

These pharmacists are not receiving any education, just money – which means they will not be informed about what they are doing.  While the press release doesn’t state what this “treatment” looks like, I’m going to venture a guess that they will prescribe one or two pills of doxycycline, which research has shown to be ineffective in preventing Lyme disease. 

In short: more garbage in, more garbage out.

COVID has given pharmacists more power in that they are now allowed to give “vaccines.”  Pharmacists are not doctors and do not have a patient’s medical history in front of them.  Nothing replaces one on one interaction between a patient and a doctor where a doctor is privy to a patient’s history.

This “Lyme treatment” bandaid will do little to relieve patient suffering.

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Category:

Activism, Lyme, Ticks, Treatment

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