MONTRÉAL -- August 30, 2026 -- Patients who wait weeks for a doctor's appointment to manage a chronic condition like diabetes or high blood pressure could increasingly turn to a pharmacist instead, under integration plans discussed by global pharmacy leaders gathered in Montréal on August 28, 2026. Health regulators, academics and pharmacy association heads from the United States, Canada and other countries met for the International Forum on Primary Health Care to pinpoint what's holding pharmacists back from taking on bigger clinical roles. The discussions, co-hosted by the Canadian Pharmacists Association (CPhA) and the American Pharmacists Association (APhA) with the International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP), will shape a joint policy report for the U.S. and Canada.
Leaders Identify Four Barriers to Wider Pharmacist Care
Forum participants named workforce readiness, sustainable funding models, supportive regulatory frameworks and interprofessional collaboration as the conditions needed for pharmacists to be consistently woven into primary care. Those findings will feed into the joint CPhA-APhA report, which is meant to support policy development and health-system implementation across Canada, the U.S. and other countries working with FIP.
Pharmacists already handle chronic disease management, medication safety checks, care transitions and preventive health services in many health systems. But how deeply they're integrated, and the policy, workforce and funding structures behind that integration, still varies widely from one country to the next.
Doucet Calls for Smarter Use of the Existing Health Workforce
Glen Doucet, CEO of the Canadian Pharmacists Association, said health systems face mounting pressure to improve access to primary care and that pharmacists have an essential role to play in easing that strain. He said expanding pharmacists' role in primary care comes down to making better use of the health workforce already in place, rather than building something new from scratch.
Hogue Says Workforce Support Determines Success
Michael Hogue, Executive Vice President and CEO of the American Pharmacists Association, said expanding what pharmacists are allowed to do is only part of the equation. "Success depends not only on expanding scope, but on preparing and supporting the workforce to deliver on that opportunity," Hogue said.
The forum also compared how different funding and integration models affect patient access, care quality and overall health-system performance. Participants discussed the education, training and practice support pharmacists need to work at their full scope.
Duggan Points to Shared Lessons Across Countries
Catherine Duggan, CEO of the International Pharmaceutical Federation, said countries are at different stages of bringing pharmacists, pharmacy educators and pharmaceutical scientists into primary care delivery, but many of the successes overlap. She said comparing experiences across health systems can show which approaches transfer well and which need to be adapted to local conditions.
Findings Feed Into Joint Report Ahead of World Congress
The forum took place just ahead of the 84th FIP World Congress of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, running in Montréal from August 30 to September 2. CPhA and APhA will now produce a joint report laying out the forum's findings, examples from participating jurisdictions and considerations for policymakers and pharmacy leaders. FIP will help translate the report for international distribution.