Explainer: Pharmacists address questions over new prescribing powers in Ontario
CTV
Since new legislation came into effecton Jan. 1 allowing Ontario pharmacists to prescribe for 13 "minor ailments," some doctors have taken to social media to voice concerns.
Since new legislation came into effecton Jan. 1 allowing Ontario pharmacists to prescribe for 13 "minor ailments," some doctors have taken to social media to voice concerns.
With the ability to assess and write prescriptions for conditions such as pink eye and uncomplicated urinary tract infections -- a regulatory change that brings Ontario in step with nineother provinces and territories -- some doctors and students questioned the move in opinion columns and social media posts, suggestingpharmacists could potentially miss a more serious diagnosis, or that their new powers could lead to an over-prescribing of antibiotics.
Jen Belcher, vice-president of strategic initiatives and member relations at the Ontario Pharmacists Association, said most of the discussion has been happening on social media, but the association has also had "productive" one-on-one conversations with physicians to answer their questions.
"Although there are a few voices that are raising these flags, generally most physicians welcome this," said Mina Tadrous, an assistant professor of pharmacy at the University of Toronto who specializes in drug policy and has been monitoring the reaction.
"I think some of these concerns are coming from a place … (of) thinking about what's best for their patients and what's best for the health-care system," said Tadrous, who was on the advisory committee that helped decide which minor ailments pharmacists should start prescribing for in Ontario.
Those ailments also include acid reflux, cold sores, oral thrush, allergies and hayfever, some types of rashes, painful menstruation, hemorrhoids, impetigo, insect bites and musculoskeletal sprains and strains. They can also prescribe preventative antibiotics for Lyme disease.
Concerns from the public or the medical community could be eased with a better understanding of what the changes actually mean -- and the fact that pharmacists have already been prescribing medications in other parts of Canada for years, Tadrous said.
