Shoppers Drug Mart opens care clinics in Ontario

BRAMPTON, Ont. – Shoppers Drug Mart opened the doors to its first Pharmacy Care Clinics in Ontario, a significant step on the path to making care more accessible and convenient for Ontarians. The first two clinics, located in Burlington and Mississauga, will offer patients access to a range of pharmacy healthcare services, including the assessment and treatment of injuries and common ailments such as urinary tract infections and pink eye.

The clinics are fully integrated with the pharmacies, which have undergone an extensive redesign to improve the overall patient experience.

“Expanded scope of practice has allowed us to reimagine the role pharmacists can play in the delivery of healthcare in Ontario,” said Jeff Leger (pictured), pharmacist and president of Shoppers Drug Mart. “That’s why we’re changing how we support pharmacists in delivering care in the province. Whether through the clinic or the dispensary, we’re making it easier for Ontarians to access the pharmacy healthcare services they need.”

Both the dispensary and clinic spaces include a range of redesigned patient-friendly features: An efficient single counter for all prescription processes, including drop off, pick up, counselling, and payment; secure lockers where customers can access prescription refills ordered through the PC Health app; a Care Concierge, to facilitate smooth and personalized clinic visits; child-friendly consultation rooms for family comfort; and new “Let’s Talk” spaces for counselling.

“Pharmacists are highly trained healthcare professionals and by expanding their scope of practice, we’re helping more Ontarians access convenient care, closer to home,” said the Honourable Sylvia Jones, Ontario Minister of Health. “Pharmacy care clinics, like the ones we toured today, speak to the success of allowing pharmacists to prescribe medication for some of the most common ailments. Thanks to this initiative, patients across Ontario are accessing care in their communities and avoiding unnecessary trips to the emergency department.”

Pharmacists in Ontario can assess patients and prescribe medications for minor illnesses and injuries, administer vaccines and other medications by injection and support chronic disease management.

The Ontario locations follow the successful launch of pharmacist-led clinics in both Alberta and Nova Scotia, where Shoppers pharmacists are seeing an average of 30 patients a day.

About Shoppers Drug Mart Inc.
Shoppers Drug Mart Inc. is one of the most recognized and trusted names in Canadian retailing. The company is the licensor of full-service retail drug stores operating under the name Shoppers Drug Mart (Pharmaprix in Québec). With almost 1,350 Shoppers Drug Mart and Pharmaprix stores operating in prime locations in each province and two territories, the company is one of the most convenient retailers in Canada. The company also licenses or owns 47 medical clinic pharmacies operating under the name Shoppers Simply Pharmacy (Pharmaprix Simplement Santé in Québec). As well, the company owns and operates 43 corporate Wellwise by Shoppers Drug Mart stores and an ecommerce site Wellwise.ca, making it the largest Canadian retailer of home healthcare products and services. In addition to its retail store network, the company owns Shoppers Drug Mart Specialty Health Network Inc., a provider of specialty drug distribution, pharmacy and comprehensive patient support services, MediSystem Inc., a provider of pharmaceutical products and services to long-term care facilities and Lifemark Health Group, Canada’s leading provider of outpatient physiotherapy, massage therapy, occupational therapy, chiropractic, mental health, and other ancillary rehabilitation services. Shoppers Drug Mart is an independent operating division of Loblaw Companies Limited.