TORONTO — The provincial government is making it more convenient for people to connect to care closer to home by launching pharmacist prescribing for some of the most common medical ailments.
As of Jan. 1, 2023, Ontarians are able to stop in at pharmacies across the province to receive prescriptions for 13 common ailments, including rashes, pink eye, insect bites and urinary tract infections with just their health card. This service makes it more convenient to access care by removing a doctor’s office visit and will come at no extra cost to Ontarians.
“Stopping by your local pharmacy for quick and easy access to treatment for some of your most common ailments increases your access to the care you need closer to home,” said Sylvia Jones, deputy premier and minister of health. “Expanding the ability of pharmacists to provide care is one more way we’re putting people at the centre of our health-care system, making it easier, faster and more convenient to access health care in their community.”
Pharmacists will be able to offer prescriptions for:
- hay fever (allergic rhinitis);
- oral thrush (candidal stomatitis);
- pink eye (conjunctivitis; bacterial, allergic and viral);
- dermatitis (atopic, eczema, allergic and contact);
- menstrual cramps (dysmenorrhea);
- acid reflux (gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD));
- hemorrhoids;
- cold sores (herpes labialis);
- impetigo;
- insect bites and hives;
- tick bites (post-exposure prophylaxis to prevent Lyme disease);
- sprains and strains (musculoskeletal); and
- urinary tract infections (UTIs).
With a large, province-wide footprint, pharmacist prescribing will help to increase access to care in rural parts of Ontario.
Listowel Pharmasave owner/pharmacist Harminder Nijjar commented that the changes would substantially help alleviate emergency room visits for minor ailments while also shortening wait times to see family doctors, both of which became exasperated by and continue to be affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Pharmacies are thinking this is fantastic and we welcome the change,” said Nijjar. “It will help alleviate some of the stress on our hospitals and GPs (general practitioners), and it’s a step in the right direction as other provinces have done this in the past and are currently doing this, and it’s working out very well.
“We don’t need someone sitting in emerg for four hours and then having a doctor diagnose them within 30 seconds and then send them off. That patient has wasted five hours of their day, and then you have the time wasted for the doctor, the nurse to get them seen, all for something very simple that could be resolved at the pharmacy.”
Nijjar explained that residents would be required to go through a consultation process with the pharmacist to help determine if their affliction is one of 13 mentioned above, and if the signs or symptoms line up, the appropriate medication will be prescribed. Any potential “red flags” would see the patient referred back to their family doctor if further testing or examination is required.
“We do have a detailed consult process we go through,” he said. “Then we determine the appropriateness of a prescription.
“At Pharmasave, we are embracing this change and are excited to work with the residents of Listowel in helping them with their minor ailments.”
“Empowering pharmacists to use their expertise to assess and treat minor ailments helps patients get the care they need sooner and closer to home – but the benefits go much further,” stated Justin Bates, CEO of the Ontario Pharmacists Association. “It reduces demand on hospitals, emergency departments, walk-in clinics and family physicians. It also frees up time for our health-care partners, allowing doctors, nurses and other health-care providers to focus on more complex care cases.”
With files from Dan McNee
