Robins Pharmacy owner Niki Shah said she has managed well since being tasked to treat and prescribe common ailments at her Newmarket Main Street location.
As with pharmacists across the province, her role expanded in January 2023, as the Ontario government permitted them to assess issues such as cold sores, pink eye, insect bites and urinary tract infections.
Shah said she is ready to take on more such work in the weeks ahead.
“The patient feedback was phenomenal,” she said. “It reduces the burden on the health-care system.”
The provincial government is rolling out a plan to further expand the role of pharmacists. It is consulting on ways to further grow this program, adding 14 additional common ailments for pharmacists to address, including sore throat, shingles and headaches and administering more publicly funded vaccines.
“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,” Deputy Premier and Minister of Health Sylvia Jones said in a news release. “Pharmacist prescribing has been a huge success in Ontario.”
It is a plan that Shah said she welcomes. She said that her pharmacy is committed to better serving the community.
“It will increase the access to all the immunizations in the community,” she said. “It will improve the health-care system, definitely, and I believe we can connect patients to more care."
Shah added she does not see it as more work, as technology should help pharmacists keep pace.
“I don’t think it will be extra burden, but I think if we use effectively the health-care technology and digital tools it will be beneficial to the patient.”
Although the Ontario Pharmacists Association supports the move, the Ontario Medical Association, which represents the province’s doctors, is expressing misgivings.
“OMA is concerned for patient safety with (the) announcement by (the Ontario government) on its plans to expand the scope of practice for pharmacists,” the organization said on X. “We are concerned this direction will fragment an already fractured health-care system. While pharmacists are experts in medication, they are not trained to prescribe and make diagnoses.”
Shah said pharmacists want to work alongside doctors and that the two associations should work to find a good understanding. There are things that only doctors can handle, but other ailments like headaches can be addressed with over-the-counter medication, she added.
“Our two associations, they have to talk,” she said. “So there are clear guidelines so we’re not overstepping on their toes. We’re just trying to help them to reduce the burden.”
