Background
Pharmacists are assuming an increasingly important role in the provision of primary care services. This raises questions about access to pharmacy services among those with medical needs. There is evidence on proximity of residents of Ontario and Nova Scotia to community pharmacies. There is little evidence for the rest of Canada.
Methods
We investigated availability of pharmacist services, both the number of community pharmacies and their hours of operation, at both the provincial and sub-provincial (Forward Sortation Area, FSA) level in Canada. We estimated regression models to assess associations of FSA-level service availability and medical need as measured using the share of residents aged 65 + and median household income.
Results
There are between 2.0 and 3.3 community pharmacies per 10,000 population, depending on the province. There are also provincial variations in the number of hours that pharmacies are open. Quebec pharmacies were open a median of 75 hours a week. In Manitoba, pharmacies were open a median of 53 hours a week. The per capita number of pharmacies and their total hours of operation at the FSA level tend to be higher in less affluent regions and in which the share of residents is aged 65 or older. Provincial differences in pharmacy availability were still evident after controlling for medical need.
Conclusion
Community pharmacies in Canada tend to locate where health needs (as measured using advance age and low income) are greatest. The impact on patient health outcomes of these pharmacy locational patterns remains an area for future research.