The Ontario government said Wednesday it is looking to expand the role of pharmacists in a bid to make it easier for people with "common ailments" to connect with health care. The plan could reduce the need for non-urgent visits to the doctor's office.
"Starting today, the government is consulting with its partners on further expanding the ability of pharmacists to provide care by treating additional common ailments, prescribing medications, administering more vaccines, and performing more point-of-care testing," said a news release from Queen's Park.
“Our government is continuing to expand our bold and innovative plan to make it easier for people to connect to the care they need, close to home,” said Ontario health minister Sylvia Jones.
“Pharmacist prescribing has been a huge success in Ontario, and we are excited to work with our partners to help explore more opportunities to leverage pharmacies to connect people to care in Ontario, no matter where they live.”
Sudbury pharmacist Sami Dabliz agrees with the move.
"I’m all for it as long as we’re given adequate resources to do the job properly," said Dabliz, who is co-owner of the Regent Street Pharmacy in Sudbury.
"It’s also important that physicians are consulted and on board with it so that this is a true collaboration that’s in the best interest of our patients," Dabliz added.
It has been since January 2023, said the health ministry, that Ontario pharmacies have provided more than 1 million assessments to treat and prescribe for 19 common ailments such as cold sores, pink eye, insect bites and urinary tract infections.
More than 4,600 pharmacies, or 99 per cent of all Ontario pharmacies, are now participating in the program, connecting people to care in every corner of the province, said the ministry news release.
Building on this success, Ontario is consulting on more ways to leverage the skills and expertise of pharmacists to continue making pharmacies a one-stop-shop for more convenient care closer to home, including:
- Treating and prescribing for 14 additional common ailments, such as sore throat, calluses and corns, mild headaches, shingles, and minor sleep disorders including insomnia.
- Ordering specific laboratory tests and performing additional point-of-care tests such as strep throat testing, to make it faster and easier to assess and treat common ailments.
- Administering additional publicly funded vaccines at pharmacies, including Tetanus, Diphtheria, Pneumococcal, and Shingles to increase access to care and save people a visit to the doctor’s office.
- Allowing pharmacy technicians to administer additional vaccines, such as Hepatitis A and B, Rabies, Meningococcal, and Human Papillomavirus.
More complete details of the new plan are available in the Ministry of Health news release.
