Ontario Pharmacist seems to expand the prescription powers, pressurize family doctors
Residents of Ontario may soon get prescriptions from a pharmacist for health issues, rather than a family doctor’s doctor, under the new rules proposed by the province, but Ontario Medical Association says that expansion may risk patients.
It is consulting with health care associations to implement province changes, which, according to a government, will expand the rights of optometrist, psychological and physiotherapist. News release Wednesday.
“There is a gap in our healthcare system,” said Ontario Pharmacist Association CEO Justin Bates. “This is actually about the complement of primary care, using resources to build capacity in our healthcare system and create access points.”
Currently, Ontario can write tips for pharmacists 19 diseasesTick ​​cutting, cold sources and UTIs. The proposed changes will include ringworm, swimmers’ ears, sore throat and a lot in that list.
The proposed rules will also expand allowances for other health professionals. Optometrist can perform minor surgery, some psychological mental health conditions may prescribe drugs and order and perform health care workers such as dental hygieneists and physiotherapists X-rays, MRI and CT scans.
According to the province’s statement on Wednesday, “These changes will help reduce the pressure on primary care providers, walk-in clinics and emergency departments of the hospital, which will give them more time to help people with more complex needs.”
The proposed rules will also expand allowances for other health professionals. Optometrist can perform minor surgery, some psychological mental health conditions may prescribe drugs and order and perform health care workers such as dental hygieneists and physiotherapists X-rays, MRI and CT scans.
The average waiting time for an MRI in Ontario is 75 days, and 38 days for CTS, according to Latest report From the province.
Criticism from doctors
Ontario Medical Association President Dr. Zainab Abdurrahman said that new rules are risky because many professionals have a lack of years of training which doctors have.
“Setting for complex conditions without proper training, oversight and monitoring puts the patient’s consequences,” he said.
In his work as an allergist and clinical immunologist, Dr. Abdurrahman said that he saw patients who had adverse reactions to drugs that were not determined by doctors after the first expansion of the provinces. Or, he said, it delayed patients in search of the underlying reasons for the symptoms he tried to treat.
“It’s a matter of the drug, you must be able to ask all specific questions,” he said. He said that family doctors develop relations with patients and know their medical history which helps them to assess the issue correctly.
Dr. Abdurrahman said that the province should increase the scope of public health care to include mental health, and create a digital system that will allow patients’ medical history and charts to be accessed by doctors across the board.
“Getting piece-food, fragmented care is not a solution to not having access to a family doctor.”
Bates said that pharmacists are eligible to make decisions about prescriptions.
“Pharmacists are trained in more drugs than any other health profession. They are capable. They can do it safely.”
The President of Optomatrist’s College, Ontario, Dr. Mark Altis stated that the training is running for optometrist, which are undergoing surgery to allow the province, such as treatment for cataract and glucoma.
“Many optometrist who are graduating, have already integrated it into their schooling, and optometrist who is in behavior has taken a continuous education course.”
Growing access
Last year, about 2.5 million People in the province were without a family doctor. And the Ford government has said that it will connect every Ontarian to a primary care doctor By 2029,
Toronto -based pharmacist, mammal Kelada said that most people still go to doctors or nurse physicians for their diseases. He said that some patients are uncertain about what pharmacists can write and said that the expansion program can raise awareness about the program.
“This will help our patients to be able to get the medicine they are looking for.”
He said that pharmacies often open out of regular hours of clinics and doctors’ offices.
Neurocycaologist and former President of Ontario Psychological Association, Dr. Diana Velikonja said that new rules will speed up the processes of obtaining tips for mental health issues.
He said that most patients would have to see a physician to determine the drug for mental health issues, but whether the family doctors can specialize in mental health or not, and many clinics have to wait longer.
He said that if psychological prescriptions were capable of writing, the needs of patients would be met.
“We are asking pediatricians or psychiatrists to see their patients and they already have long waiting list and high patient loads,” Velikonja said. “And now they have to look for new patients to try to change the med.”
Capacity for demand
Bates said that pharmacies were used for increased demand during the Covid -19 epidemic, which led to a smooth rollout when the government allowed pharmacists to write medicines for the first time.
“This part was successful in the part because we had prepared to manage the demand of patients many years ago, but rather handle it within our workflow and operation,” he said.
He said that the incremental introduction of diseases included in the list has provided pharmacies over time to prepare infrastructure and staffing. But it will need to be monitored.
“We need to keep a close watch to ensure that we have the right labor ratio for demand and services.”
