IMPROVING ACCESS TO HEALTH CARE BY ENHANCING PHARMACISTS' PRESCRIBING AUTHORITY

Saskatchewan residents will have improved access to health care services when expanded prescribing authority for pharmacists takes effect March 4.

"This is a great step forward for health care in Saskatchewan," Health Minister Don McMorris said. "I believe that enhancing pharmacists' prescribing authority puts patients first by giving Saskatchewan residents greater and more timely access to health care services and to their prescription medications."

Amendments to the Saskatchewan College of Pharmacists' bylaws will recognize the ability of pharmacists to improve health care delivery in the province, working in collaboration with doctors and other health care professionals.

The amendments will authorize pharmacists to provide services such as extending refills on existing prescriptions and providing emergency supplies of prescribed medications. As well, they will enable pharmacists in the near future to prescribe certain medications for minor ailments.

This enhanced prescribing authority will also enable pharmacists who acquire advanced training in managing diseases to have an expanded role in prescribing drugs for those diseases. These pharmacists will do so while working in close collaboration with physicians.

"We are very pleased with the move to enhanced prescribing authority," Saskatchewan College of Pharmacists President Christine Hrudka said. "It culminates a journey that began several years ago and follows recommendations from various inquiries and reviews of the health care system. Over the last three or more years we consulted with our professional colleagues, including physicians and nurses, to develop this collaborative framework. It reflects our belief in collaboration and promoting an optimal role for the pharmacist as a member of the health care team in the public interest."

"Pharmacists are a critical member of the health care team for patients," Pharmacists' Association of Saskatchewan Chair Kerry Mansell said. "Enhanced pharmacist prescriptive authority will be an immense benefit for patients, other prescribers and the health system as a whole. We look forward to working with our patients and other health care providers in this expanded capacity."

"Collaborative practice arrangements between physicians and pharmacists are an essential step in moving toward patient-centred primary health care, and represent a model that can be adapted for other members of the health care team," Saskatchewan Medical Association President Dr. Guruswamy Sridhar said. "Enhancing a pharmacist's authority to write prescriptions in certain circumstances is an excellent example of how we are putting the needs of the patient first."

The Saskatchewan College of Pharmacists will soon launch a public education campaign, including promotion of www.mypharmacistknows.com, a website created to provide additional details on this new role for pharmacists.

There are approximately 1,300 pharmacists practising in Saskatchewan.

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For more information, contact:

Tyler McMurchy
Health
Regina
Phone: 306-787-4083

Ray Joubert
Saskatchewan College of Pharmacists
Regina
Phone: 306-584-2292

Dawn Martin
Pharmacists' Association of Saskatchewan
Regina
Phone: 306-359-7277

Scott Donaldson
Saskatchewan Medical Association
Saskatoon
Phone: 306-244-2196