In Ontario, pharmacists are now able to treat and prescribe medications for six more common ailments, according to a new tab on the province’s website. The move, announced by the province’s deputy minister of health, Sylvia Jones, this morning, provide’s patients with faster, easier access to care closer to home while also reducing wait times at clinics and hospitals.
Starting today, people will be able to visit a local pharmacy to receive prescriptions for:
- acne;
- canker sores;
- diaper rash;
- yeast infections;
- parasitic worms (pinworms and threadworms); and
- nausea and vomiting in pregnancy.
Since the beginning of the year, pharmacists have been allowed to prescribe medication for a wide range of common ailments, with 89 percent of pharmacies in Ontario opting into the program and providing more than 400,000 evaluations. The province has also recently made it possible for pharmacists to provide certain injections and inhalations, including insulin and B12 injections, as well as osteoporotic treatments, at a “professional fee.”
