THUNDER BAY – Local pharmacists realize the amazing impacts of treating minor ailments for Ontarians, however, they feel it’s a lot on their plate.
Vinay Kapoor, pharmacist and owner of Dawson Heights Pharmacy, said this addition has great impacts on patients but that pharmacies will be overwhelmed.
The government announced on Wednesday an addition to the scope of practice which pharmacists offer to their patients.
“In addition to 19 existing minor ailments, we're adding 14 additional ones to that. We're up to 33 now and some in-store diagnostics and ordering lab results as well.” Kapoor said.
Kapoor said it’s going to have a great impact on patient care in Ontario.
“For the patients, it’s the best thing that could happen. Unfortunately, it's a mixed bag – pharmacy is going to be overwhelmed with the amount of work. So, we're in consultation with government on that.” Kapoor added.
This will be downloading a lot of the things from physicians to pharmacists, Kapoor said.
“We’re already strapped for time since COVID with the injections and the extra minor ailments. And in addition to that, our professional fee has not increased since 2012," he added.
“In order to provide all these services, we need some reimbursement to help with staffing and other infrastructure changes that have to happen.”
Kapoor hopes to see an increase in the professional fee however, he said he can’t be sure it will come.
“I think it's a great starting point for the care of patients. I think we have to start somewhere.”
Kapoor said pharmacists will try to reduce the load on doctors so they can see more patients. With this scenario, every time a pharmacist sees a patient, they have to fill in paperwork and make the physician aware. So, it's just adding more work into the system.
“We have to make the physicians aware of what we prescribed or what we've diagnosed. And if it's something up for scope, we still have to alert them and pass the patient on to the physician. It's not just prescribing and out the door you go.
“If a patient goes to another physician for a walk-in clinic, they don't need to advise the family doctor. But with pharmacists, we still have to do that extra step and the physician has to review it as well.”
The whole point of this is to make care more accessible, he said.
“So, if you can't get in to see your physician for one of our 33 ailments that we will do, you will come visit your local pharmacy and get quicker care.”
Dawson Heights Pharmacy has an online portal as well as walk-in appointments. These are available to any Ontario resident.
“We need the government to recognize the burden on pharmacies and you know, look at compensation and just bring it back to the table,” Kapoor said.
From an Ontario government news release:
Since January 2023, Ontario’s pharmacies have provided more than 1 million assessments to treat and prescribe for 19 common ailments such as cold sores, pink eye, insect bites and urinary tract infections. Over 4,600 pharmacies, or 99 per cent of all Ontario pharmacies, are now participating in the program, connecting people to care in every corner of the province.
Building on this success, Ontario is consulting on more ways to leverage the skills and expertise of pharmacists to continue making pharmacies a one-stop-shop for more convenient care closer to home, including:
- treating and prescribing for 14 additional common ailments, such as sore throat, calluses and corns, mild headaches, shingles, and minor sleep disorders including insomnia
- ordering specific laboratory tests and performing additional point-of-care tests such as strep throat testing, to make it faster and easier to assess and treat common ailments
- administering additional publicly funded vaccines at pharmacies, including Tetanus, Diphtheria, Pneumococcal, and Shingles to increase access to care and save people a visit to the doctor’s office
- allowing pharmacy technicians to administer additional vaccines, such as Hepatitis A and B, Rabies, Meningococcal, and Human Papillomavirus
- identifying barriers in hospital settings that limit pharmacists from ordering certain laboratory and point-of-care tests, to make it easier for people to connect to care and reduce burden on nurses and doctors
- improving the MedsCheck program to support health outcomes and reduce unnecessary service duplication and administrative red tape, while continuing to protect patient choice.
