Premier Danielle Smith met with Health Minister Jason Copping and the Alberta Pharmacists Association (APA) to discuss solutions to alleviate drug shortages plaguing the province..On Monday evening, Smith posted a picture on Twitter and said she met with the APA, Copping, and the Alberta College of Pharmacy.."We discussed both short & long-term solutions to alleviate drug shortages, including working with precursor suppliers and compounding pharmacies to produce medication like acetaminophen on-site," Smith tweeted.."Over the past few weeks, I have been hearing from Alberta families about the extreme hardship caused by the shortage in children’s pain medication and the harmful impacts on their children’s health.".Health Canada said on Monday it’s importing a foreign supply of children’s pain and fever medications that will be available on retail shelves in the coming weeks.."Parents want to see their government taking meaningful steps to ensure their children’s health issues are addressed," Smith said..Twitter users were quick to react to the tweet from the premier, some applauded and rejoiced as others scolded her decision to find a solution within the province.."Oh good I’m glad you’ve heard from Alberta parents over the last few weeks. This has been a problem for months. Your government ignored parents for months. Not to mention the overwhelmed children's hospitals or anything," Sara Cloutier said.."Fundamentally start seeing yourself as a nation within a nation, that is the only way for Alberta to prosper and have security. The whims of Eastern Canada with 'their' federal Govt will not serve you and will ignore Albertans," Allen Scantland said in a tweet..A concerned parent in Edmonton told the Western Standard a local pharmacy recommended half doses of adult medication for his children experiencing flu-like symptoms.."This is unacceptable," the parent said..Smith said she's pleased to see the federal government secured a foreign supply of acetaminophen that will be arriving in the coming weeks, however, she still plans to find a solution here in Alberta.."Our government will ensure we are working with our own stakeholders to find solutions here in Alberta," Smith said..The premier plans to release details in a statement later Tuesday.
