As of Jan. 1 pharmacists in Ontario will be allowed to prescribe treatments for 13 common conditions, but that doesn’t mean they’ll all be ready to do it. The province’s ministry of health issued a reminder of the previously announced expansion of pharmacists‘ roles on Wednesday, noting the service will be free with a health card.
Ontario pharmacists will be allowed to assess patients and prescribe medication as needed for pink eye, acid reflux, cold sores, skin irritation, menstrual cramps, hemorrhoids, impetigo, insect bites, hives, hay fever and sprains. They will also be able to treat uncomplicated urinary tract infections and prescribe antibiotics after tick bites to prevent Lyme disease.
“All Shoppers Drug Mart and Loblaw pharmacies in Ontario will offer the service as of January 1,” Jeff Leger, president of Shoppers Drug Mart, said in an email on Wednesday. Rexall Pharmacy Group and McKesson Canada, which was speaking for Guardian, I.D.A., Remedy’sRx and The Medicine Shoppe pharmacies, said in the health ministry’s news release on Wednesday that their pharmacists will participate in the expansion.