Costs and savings associated with a pharmacists prescribing for minor ailments program in Saskatchewan

• Published in: Cost effectiveness and resource allocation Vol. 15; no. 1; pp. 3 - 11
• Main Authors: Rafferty, Ellen, Yaghoubi, Mohsen, Taylor, Jeff, Farag, Marwa
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England BioMed Central Ltd 11.04.2017; BioMed Central; BMC
• Subjects: Acne; Activities of daily living; Cost analysis; Cost control; Cost savings; Dermatitis; Drug stores; Economic impact; Emergency medical care; Empowerment; Family physicians; Gastroesophageal reflux; Health care reform; Health literacy; Illnesses; Impact analysis; Minor ailments; Patient satisfaction; Pharmacists; Pharmacists prescribing; Physicians; Prescription writing; Prescriptions (Drugs); Primary care; Retirement benefits; Return on investment; Scope of practice; Societal and public payer perspectives; Workloads; United Kingdom > UK; Canada; Scotland; Minor ailments; Cost savings; Societal and public payer perspectives; Economic impact; Pharmacists prescribing; Cost analysis; ROI
• ISSN: 1478-7547; 1478-7547
• DOI: 10.1186/s12962-017-0066-7

Health care systems around the world have started to develop pharmacists prescribing for minor ailments (PPMA) programs. These programs aim to improve the efficiency of care, reduce physician visits, and increase the accessibility to prescription medication (Rx). This study performed an economic impact analysis of the pharmacists prescribing for minor ailments program in Saskatchewan. We measured costs for the program and the alternative scenario (i.e. no PPMA program) from a public payer and societal perspective, using primary data on pharmacists prescribing consultations in Saskatchewan. Furthermore, we calculated public payer and societal savings, and return on investment ratios for the program, as well as projecting the costs and benefits over the next 5 years. Overall, we found that from a societal perspective, the Saskatchewan PPMA program saved the province approximately $546,832 in 2014, while according to the public payer perspective, the program was only marginally cost-saving in 2014. After 5 years of implementation, from a societal perspective, cumulative cost savings were projected to be $3,482,660, and the return on investment ratio was estimated to be 2.53. Our results demonstrate that this type of program may prove cost-saving and lead to improved access to the health care system in Canada, especially if savings to society are considered. This type of PPMA program may prove economically feasible and beneficial in many countries considering expanding pharmacists scope of practice.