MONTREAL – Quebec patients with minor ailments may soon be able replace a trip to the doctor’s office or clinic with one to the neighbourhood pharmacy.
New legislation will expand the role of Quebec pharmacists to tasks that have traditionally been reserved for doctors.
The province’s introduction of Bill 41 drew on recent amendments to pharmacy laws in other Canadian provinces aimed at easing pressure on family doctors, clinics and emergency rooms.
Pharmacists will not be able to diagnose health conditions, but they will be able to extend a prescription for one year, as well as adjust medications and order and interpret laboratory tests that monitor drug use.
Pharmacists will also be able to provide patients with drugs for the prevention of certain conditions, for example, anti-malaria, morning sickness, traveller’s diarrhea and the morning-after pill.
Proposed changes to Quebec’s pharmacy act reflect a growing perception that pharmacists are more than mere pill dispensers.
Alberta was the first province in 2005 to allow pharmacists to extend prescriptions. Quebec’s adoption of Bill 41 is consistent with the concept of “pharmaceutical care” adopted by the World Health Organization and International Pharmaceutical Federation.
Pharmacists are patient-centred, medication therapy experts with years of university training who are highly qualified to provide education and counselling on a variety of health issues, explained Diane Lamarre, head of the Quebec Order of Pharmacists.
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“It’s not just distribute the medication properly and safely, now pharmacists can collaborate with other members of the health care team to reach therapeutic goals,” Lamarre said, for example, in specific diseases and chronic conditions that rely on drug therapy.
Too often patients take certain drugs for months without reaching the desired effect, Lamarre said, but with pharmacists in the health mix monitoring and adjusting prescriptions, the patient should get faster tweaking for better results.
Patients can expect to spend more time talking to their pharmacists, she added.
Apart from freeing doctors to care for other complex issues, the proposed law aims to improve patients’ timely access to care, safety and health outcomes, Lamarre said.
When it comes to the front lines, pharmacists are among the most easily accessible of health professionals in the community, noted a recent Canadian report on the evolution of pharmacy practice. Public surveys also suggest that pharmacists are among the top three most highly-regarded professionals, after firefighters and ambulance paramedics.
The Quebec College of Physicians supports the changes and worked closely with the pharmacists to define minor ailments, guidelines for prescriptions and other conditions calling for direct patient care.
As public consultations on Bill 41 ended last Friday, the law is expected to come into effect by late spring. Here are the six new front-line services proposed:
Renew a doctor’s prescription but not beyond one year.
Modify or adjust a prescription’s form, dosage and quantity.
Prescribe a medication when no diagnosis is required.
Substitute medications when there’s a supply disruption.
Order and analyze laboratory tests to monitor medication use.
Administer injections as a demonstration for educational purposes.
For more information, visit the Order’s website (in French).
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