Absolutely. Paxlovid is a really great example—nd kudos to Quebec for enabling pharmacists to participate in increasing patients' access to it, getting it into the hands of high-risk individuals and keeping them out of hospitals.
I think it's really about optimizing our education as medication experts. It's a collaborative approach. When it comes to the pandemic, we've seen how pharmacists have stepped up.
We've been involved in testing. We've been involved in screening and administering vaccines. If you're already going to a pharmacist to provide you with the pandemic services that we've had throughout the pandemic, prescribing for Paxlovid is a natural fit.
It's also really important because of the short duration for efficacy. We know that there's a short window—five days. Going to different health care settings to navigate this is very complicated for patients, so making sure that we're removing those barriers and giving access is so important. Pharmacists are well versed in drug interactions. They have a full patient history. It would be lovely if they had access to the medical records, but they can work in collaboration with family physicians and other health care providers to make sure that monitoring and follow-up takes place.
It's a very natural fit for pharmacists, and it makes sense because that relationship is already established with the patients that they serve.