OTTAWA — Canadians hold pharmacists in high regard and see them as playing a key role in the nation’s health care system, according to a poll conducted by Abacus Data for the Canadian Pharmacists Association.

The online survey of a 2,937 Canadians, done for Pharmacist Awareness Month in Canada, which takes place in March, found that 96% of respondents had a positive view of pharmacists. Only paramedics and nurses ranked higher.

“While almost all Canadians have a strong affinity for pharmacists, opinions are particularly positive among those who regularly visit a pharmacy, among Canadians aged 60 and over, and among women,” the Abacus report said. “Also of note, among the 36% of Canadians who say they know their pharmacist by name, 52% have a very positive impression, while another 45% say they have a mostly positive impression of pharmacists.”

When asked to classify various health professionals as playing a central, important or supporting role in the Canadian health care system, 82% of those survey cited pharmacists as either central (54%) or important (28%). Pharmacists were grouped most closely with nurses, paramedics and doctors as central players in the health care system, according to the study.

Most Canadians polled, too, see pharmacists as having a broader health care role beyond dispensing prescriptions. A majority of respondents (72%) said they pharmacists to be health care providers, with 51% deeming pharmacists as both health care providers and prescription fillers and another 21% considering them more as health care providers than prescription fillers.

“Canadians also make the connection between an increased role for pharmacists in the delivery of health care and better health outcomes,” the report stated. “Most Canadians agree that expanding the role of pharmacists in the delivery of health care would improve patients’ overall quality of life, reduce overcrowding in emergency rooms and walk-in clinics, and reduce overall health care costs. A large majority also consider a pharmacist to be part of their overall health care team, especially older Canadians who rely on pharmacists more regularly.”

Specifically, 85% of Canadians agreed that giving pharmacists prescribing authority for minor ailments would ease the burden on emergency rooms and clinics, and the same percentage concurred that pharmacists’ education and training enable them to do more than just filling prescriptions.

Likewise, 84% of Canadians agreed that health care outcomes would improve with pharmacists working with other members of a health care team. In addition, 82% thought that this scenario would better patients’ quality of life, and 79% believe that health care costs would be reduced if pharmacists worked more closely with doctors.

Overall, the study found that 82% of Canadians deem pharmacists as part of their health care team.

“A clear majority of Canadians believe that the health care system would be improved by enhancing the role of pharmacists in the delivery of health care services,” the Canadian Pharmacists Association stated.

“Over the past several years, the number and scope of services that pharmacists can provide to patients has increased significantly. The survey being released today demonstrates Canadians’ support for these expanded services as well as an even more enhanced role for pharmacists in the delivery of health care services,” the association noted. “Pharmacists in many provinces can renew and extend prescriptions, deliver flu shots, deliver smoking cessation programs, conduct extensive medication management services, and prescribe for certain minor ailments and conditions. These additional services not only provide better care and service to Canadians, but by locating care more accessibly in the community, pharmacists are helping to create a more sustainable health care system for all Canadians.”

Of Canada’s 10 provinces, nine enable pharmacists to provide emergency prescriptions, renew or extend prescriptions, and change drug dosage or formulation, according to the Canadian Pharmacists Association. Eight provinces allow pharmacists to administer an injection, and seven permit pharmacists to make a therapeutic substitution and initiate prescription drug therapy. Six provinces enable pharmacists to prescribe for minor ailments and conditions. Some of these services are pending or have restrictions, depending on the province.

The findings of the Abacus survey are reflected in the Pharmacist Awareness Month tagline for 2015, “Pharmacists: Trusted Care When and Where You Need It,” the Canadian Pharmacists Association said. The message emphasizes pharmacists’ position on the frontline of health care and as the most accessible health care providers in Canada, the association added.

This week, western Canadian chain London Drugs said it’s spotlighting its pharmacists’ array of health care services for Pharmacy Awareness Month in Canada.

“Given the increasing numbers of medications, the aging population and the growing importance of self-care, Pharmacy Awareness Month is a critical opportunity to remind Canadians about the services easily accessible through their pharmacists,” London Drugs stated.

Besides filling prescriptions, London Drugs’ services include clinics for travel and immunizations, osteoporosis screening, smoking cessation, nutrition and metabolism, and flu vaccinations; medication reviews; administering vaccines (by certified injection pharmacists, including the Zostavax vaccine for shingles); individualized diabetes management programs with certified diabetes educators; chronic illness management; and compression stockings fitting.

London Drugs’ pharmacists also can prescribe for minor ailments/conditions in some provinces, and they’re always on hand to help patients find solutions to everyday health concerns, such as allergies, cough/cold, pain management, stomach health and eye care. The drug chain operates 78 stores in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba.