The Ontario government is looking at making pharmacies a one-stop-shop by further expanding the ability of pharmacists to provide care.
Starting today, the government is exploring ways to further expand the ability of pharmacists to provide care by treating additional common ailments, administering more vaccines, and performing more point-of-care testing.
“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,” said Sylvia Jones, Minister of Health.
Since January 2023, Ontario’s 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. Over 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.
Additional items being considered:
- 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
- identifying barriers in hospital settings that limit pharmacists from ordering certain laboratory and point-of-care tests, to make it easier for people to connect to care and reduce burden on nurses and doctors
- improving the MedsCheck program to support health outcomes and reduce unnecessary service duplication and administrative red tape, while continuing to protect patient choice.
"In addition to providing more convenience, allowing pharmacists to connect people with more care options at their local pharmacy will also give family doctors more time to help people with more complex needs," says a government news release. "As with visiting a family physician or walk-in clinic, Ontarians can receive a prescription from a pharmacist for common ailments with just their Ontario health card. The cost of the medication being prescribed will continue to be paid for by people directly or through their drug benefits plan."
More than 1 million assessments have been completed since allowing pharmacists to treat and prescribe for 19 common ailments, including pink eye, UTIs, and acne. More than 4,600 pharmacies (99 per cent) have participated in the program.
Recent changes by the province also allow pharmacists to administer certain injection and inhalation treatments so that they can better care for people who need help taking certain medications, such as insulin, vitamin B12, or osteoporosis treatment.
Anyone with symptoms should contact their local pharmacist to confirm whether they provide prescribing services for certain common ailments before visiting the pharmacy.
"The ongoing and expanded role of pharmacists is fundamental to delivering accessible, high-quality care for Ontarians. Pharmacists have consistently shown we can assess and treat common ailments, deliver vaccinations to help close vaccination gaps and improve health across our communities," said Lisa Dolovich, Dean, Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Toronto. "Through innovative and future-oriented health education, pharmacy learners are trained and prepared to practice to our full scope alongside and in collaboration with other healthcare professionals."
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