Medavie Blue Cross is being irresponsible for placing customers in the middle of contract disputes it is having with pharmacies, according to the New Brunswick Pharmacists' Association.

The insurance giant is signing new drug fee schedules with pharmacies in the province and it has advised clients that they should move their prescriptions if their pharmacy doesn't accept the Blue Cross quick-pay card.

Paul Blanchard, executive director of the New Brunswick Pharmacists' Association, said Medavie Blue Cross's advice could put people at risk.

Paul Blanchard, the executive director of the New Brunswick Pharmacists' Association, said it is irresponsible for Medavie Blue Cross to advice its customers to switch pharmacies during an ongoing contract disputes. (CBC)"For them to recommend that people go elsewhere in the short-term is inappropriate in our mind and it's certainly putting people at risk," Blanchard said.

The association said there are many studies suggesting the risk of drug interactions increases when a patient moves to another pharmacy, particularly when a patient is on more than one medication.

Blanchard said customers should talk to their pharmacists to see if accommodations can be made until contracts are signed.

Medavie Blue Cross is still negotiating new drug fee schedules with Pharmasave, Pharmachoice, Familiprix, Superstore, Sobeys and Lawtons.

On March 6, Blue Cross and Shoppers Drug Mart stories in Atlantic Canada reached a tentative agreement.

Until that deal was struck, Shoppers Drug Mart had threatened that most of its pharmacies in the region would stop accepting Blue Cross cards for direct-pay service.

Meanwhile, the insurance company had advised its clients to find a pharmacy that accepts its direct-pay service and then ask that their existing prescriptions be sent to their new pharmacy.

A company spokesman said during the dispute that there was nothing to stop Shoppers Drug Mart from charging more for prescriptions and then Blue Cross clients would not be able to recoup those costs.

Patient concerned

The contract dispute between the insurance company and the pharmacies has drawn the ire of some customers.

It took almost nine weeks before Medavie Blue Cross and Keswick Pharmacy, which is near Fredericton, could come to an agreement on drug pricing.

During that time, Jeanette Robertson had to pay upfront for her prescriptions at a cost of about $400 a month.

Robertson said the pharmacy helped her out by allowing her to pay in instalments.

She said she was angry when she learned Blue Cross was recommending she move to another location that would accept her quick-pay card.

"I assumed they were saying take your business to one of these other pharmacies. And I found that a little troubling because that's interfering with Keswick Pharmacy's business," Robertson said.