Quebec pharmacists granted more power by government
Pharmacists, health department been working on finalizing a deal for years
Starting today, Quebecers can skip the emergency room and go straight to their local pharmacist for some basic medical services in the province.
After years of negotiations, the province's pharmacists have reached a tentative deal with the government.
In 2011, the province of Quebec passed Bill 41. The law was supposed to help free up doctors by expanding the roles of pharmacists, but it's only coming into effect now.
The main stumbling block in negotiations was how much money pharmacists should be compensated in exchange for their extra work.
The details of the proposed agreement between pharmacists and the province won't be released until it's been approved by the Quebec Association of Pharmacy Owners, however patients won't have to pay anything extra.
Most of the new services will be covered by the provincial or private health insurance.
Here's a list of the pharmacists' new responsibilities:
- Prescribing medication for conditions that have already been diagnosed, as well as for conditions that don't require a diagnosis.
- Extending or adjusting a prescription, as well as switching one medication for another if something's out of stock.
- Ordering and interpreting lab results.
- Administering a medication to a patient and showing them how to use it.