March 23, 2023 · 0 Comments
By Brian Lockhart
Ontario residents can stop in pharmacies across the province to receive prescriptions for 13 common ailments.
As of Jan 1, 2023, the Ontario government changed its laws to allow prescriptions for rashes, pink eye, insect bits or urinary tract infections. You can use your health card to get the prescriptions.
The service was implemented to make it more convenient to access care by eliminating a visit to the doctor’s office and reducing emergency room visits for non-emergency situations.
Pharmacies fill drug prescriptions and offer medication counselling to all members of the community. Pharmacists can also prescribe specific treatment options for some of the most common medical ailments.
Accessing this service will come at no extra cost to Ontarians. All you need is your health card.
Typical services offered by pharmacies include prescription dispensing services, smoking cessation programs, diabetes management support and education, MedsCheck program, flu shots, special packaging options for medications, and home health care supplies.
With the new regulations, pharmacists can prescribe certain medications to treat hay fever, oral thrush, pink eye, dermatitis, menstrual cramps, acid reflux, and hemorrhoids. They can also prescribe medicines for cold sores, impetigo, insect bites and hives, tick bites, sprains and strains, and urinary tract infections.
The program will also help to increase health care access in rural parts of the province.
As prescribing is optional, anyone with symptoms should contact their local pharmacists to confirm whether they prescribe for certain common ailments before visiting.
If you are taking multiple medications, the MedsCheck program, available at most pharmacies, helps ensure that you are getting the most benefit from your medications and taking them as prescribed. Anyone taking at least three medications with an Ontario health care is eligible for the MedsCheck Program.
It would be best to visit a pharmacy when you need to have a prescription filled, treatment for a common ailment, help to quit smoking, advice about managing diabetes, taking multiple medications and want counselling, or you need vaccines, including the flu shot.