From 1st January 2023, in Ontario, Pharmacist are given authorization to prescibe medications for thirteen(13) minor ailments including urinary tract infections, tick bites, pinkeye, cold sores and dermatitis.
Can you imagine being paid as a Pharmacist for prescribing some medicines to inpatients and via Telephone?
Trailing behind the money, it gives more value to the Pharmacist who are experts in medicines and more importantly the patient benefits more from the excellent Pharmaceutical care provided.
“The move is intended to reduce the load on primary care physicians and emergency rooms”, said Nardine Nakhla, a Scarborough pharmacist and professor at the University of Waterloo School of Pharmacy, who was one of the architects of the new regulations.
“It’s within our knowledge and clinical expertise; this is just adding tools to that toolbox,” she said. “It’s going to help us ensure patients have access to care outside of the typical nine to five medical model.”
Because of The new prescribing regulations Pharmacists are required to complete a mandatory one-hour online course are part of Ontario’s expanded scope of practice that began in 2019. Pharmacists can now administer injections and, since July of this year, offer point-of-care tests to help patients manage chronic conditions like diabetes and cardiovascular disease. – CBC News, Canada.