How Our Pharmacists Can Help You

The scarcity of access to primary care on Vancouver Island leaves many residents at a loss for where to access basic services. Heart Pharmacy is stepping up to help their customers and increase awareness around pharmacists’ scope of practice, which some people may find surprising. 

  • If you have run out of a medication and cannot access a physician to refill your prescription before your supply runs out, pharmacists may be able to provide an emergency refill of up to 30 days of your medication, providing some relief while you arrange an appointment with your physician, at a walk-in clinic or telehealth appointment.

    If you require an emergency prescription refill, please call one of our locations and speak to one of our pharmacists.

  • If you have been taking the same medication for a stable medical condition for six months or longer, pharmacists may be able to renew your prescription for longer than with an emergency supply. It should be done by a pharmacy that received your original prescription, requires some assessment and information collection by the pharmacist, and does not apply to medications for cancer, cardiovascular disease, asthma, seizures or psychiatric conditions.

  • In many cases, pharmacists can adapt a prescription to a similar -but different- medication if you are having a problem tolerating one of your medications, if your medication becomes unavailable due to supply issues, or if you need a change from tablet to liquid dosage form.

    Our pharmacists want to help you succeed with your medication regimen. If you are experiencing difficulty taking your medication as prescribed, please gives us a call or visit us in-store.

  • There are many vaccines available that do not require a prescription from a physician.

    The HPV (Human Papilloma Virus), shingles, tetanus, pneumonia and hepatitis B vaccines are just some examples.

    You do not have to put off scheduling your vaccination appointment until you can get a doctor’s appointment!

  • Bouncing between walk-in clinics, telehealth appointments, and urgent care clinics can mean you have different prescriptions, prescribed at different times by different providers.

    If you have taken at least five prescription medications in the last six months, you are eligible for a medication review (funded by pharmacare at no cost to you) at your pharmacy.

    A medication review improves patient’s understanding of their medications, checks for contraindications, and the review can also be shared with other health care professionals including a family doctor, specialist, or walk-in clinic.

If you are looking to refill a prescription and already use a Heart location as your primary pharmacy, you can now submit your refill request online on our MyRefill page.

We are always welcoming new customers - if you’d like to transfer any current prescriptions to one of our locations, you can simply enter your information on our prescription transfer webpage.