New Brunswick Innovates to Expand Primary Health Care Access

At a press conference in Fredericton on Wednesday, January 26, Health Minister Dorothy Shephard announced that New Brunswickers now have more options to get care in the community for their more pressing health needs. Thanks to a partnership involving the Department of Health, regional health authorities, Extra-Mural/Ambulance New Brunswick, and community health providers, New Brunswickers have more options outside of the emergency room to treat their healthcare needs in their own communities.

“Despite the pandemic, we have stayed focused on improving our health-care system for the long term and accelerated our work on the health plan we launched in November to improve options to community care,” said Shephard. “Effective today, we are giving you more options for better care, with easier access and faster service.”

This project attempts make better use of all health professionals across the province, including family doctors, nurse practitioners and pharmacists, especially at a time when the Omicron variant is filling up hospitals with COVID-19 patients and many healthcare workers are off work and isolating. The province estimates that about 60 per cent of New Brunswick’s typical emergency department patients could be treated outside of the hospital.

“These changes will allow us to address the emergency department crisis while also evaluating new options for care and determining what works best for New Brunswickers when it comes to accessing health-care services,” said Shephard. “We have worked quickly to implement these changes and expect there to be some bumps along the road, but we will seek feedback and improve as we work to strengthen health-care services, now and into the future.”

Starting Monday, January 31, paramedics will use their clinical judgement to determine whether transport to the hospital is required or if other options are better suited to the patient’s needs. Pharmacists can now renew many prescriptions, regardless of whether the patient has a primary care provider. They can answer questions about medications; prescribe treatment for minor conditions, including urinary tract infections, skin conditions and fungal infections.