Continuing to build the pharmacy of the future, today

There are different types of pharmacies in Canada, including community, hospital and clinical, and a trained pharmacist can work at any of them. But since 2011, the Express Scripts Canada Pharmacy has transformed the Canadian pharmacy landscape and the way patients make decisions about their medications.

Since its inception, the ESC Pharmacy has focused on home delivery, unlike most pharmacies, and our pharmacists are patient advocates who are on call 24/7 to meet patient needs. In addition, the ESC Pharmacy offers free delivery throughout Canada, with automatic refills and reminders, online prescription transfers and refill requests.

Read more: A day in the life of an Express Scripts Canada pharmacist

On July 30, Express Scripts Canada introduced the next generation Express Scripts Canada Pharmacy (ESC Pharmacy). What does this mean for plan members and plan sponsors? A suite of new and improved features and offerings that will continue our tradition of striving to be the best comprehensive pharmacy service in the country. Our enhanced Express Scripts Canada Pharmacy will deliver more value and convenience for pharmacy members while continuing to offer exceptional pharmacy care.

When we launched the ESC Pharmacy nearly 10 years ago, we did so to respond to how the Canadian healthcare landscape had evolved. Healthcare treatment had become more complex, and pharmacy became more complex too. The old notion of the neighbourhood pharmacy needed a rethink and to evolve to meet the needs of pharmacy patients.

As the largest provider of claims adjudication for prescription drug benefits in Canada, ESC has a unique advantage – we understand patient drug claims better than anyone. The Express Scripts Canada Pharmacy was born with a mandate to:

1. Improve health outcomes by preventing negative drug interactions and addressing medication nonadherence;
2. Improve the sustainability of prescription drug plans, lowering costs for patients and plan sponsors; and
3. Deliver never-before-seen levels of value and convenience for pharmacy members.

Read more: A collaborative, patient-focused approach to healthcare empowers patients to make better health decisions

Over the years, the ESC Pharmacy has continued to deliver on this promise, while looking ahead to anticipate how the pharmacy and larger healthcare landscape would continue to change. With that in mind, we’ve maintained ongoing communications with both our members and drug plan sponsors that provide prescription drug benefits plans. Our focus on innovation and improvement has allowed us to continually evaluate which elements of the service are working well, and where there are opportunities for improvement.

In response to feedback from our pharmacy patients and drug plan sponsors, and keeping with the ongoing evolution of the pharmacy marketplace, the ESC Pharmacy has added the following enhanced offering:

• Optional Saturday delivery for patients unable to receive a medication delivery during the week, adding convenience for members with busy lives;
• Enhanced packing options for pharmacy members trying to manage multiple ongoing medications; and

These enhancements make for a better pharmacy service and reflect our commitment to deliver care the way that our members want to receive it. All while continuing to improve the long-term sustainability of Canada’s prescription drug benefit plans, and offering the best care available for Canadians trying to manage multiple ongoing medications.

Read more: An active pharmacy provides more value for Canadians. Period. Here’s why.

Of course, members will continue to receive the superior service they have come to rely on, including pharmacists available 24/7.

The Express Scripts Canada Pharmacy is proud to take this next step in the evolution of patient-centred care, continuing to build the pharmacy of the future, today.