Government mulls letting trained Health-Care professionals actually use their training. Revolutionary.
It only took a health-care crisis, chronic staffing shortages, and years of people sitting in ERs for eight hours with strep throat — but Ontario is finally considering letting a wider range of health-care professionals do the jobs they were trained to do.
Yes, really. The provincial government has launched consultations on expanding the “scope of practice” for a whole slate of regulated professionals — including optometrists, psychologists, physiotherapists, pharmacists, and more — in a bid to make care faster and more accessible.
Or, put more bluntly: to stop forcing patients to play “medical musical chairs” just to get basic treatment.
“Across our province, qualified health-care professionals are ready to contribute more to their communities, ensuring doctors’ offices and emergency departments are available for those who truly need them,” said Sylvia Jones, Ontario’s Deputy Premier and Minister of Health.
Well, good. Because they’ve been ready for years.
The Plan (a.k.a. Common Sense 101)
Under the proposed changes, Ontario is looking to:
- Let optometrists perform minor in-office surgical procedures, use laser therapy to treat cataracts and glaucoma, and treat open-angle glaucoma without forcing patients to hunt down a physician referral like it’s 1998.
- Allow psychologists with specialized training to prescribe certain medications — like antidepressants — and order diagnostic tests such as blood work and urinalysis, instead of passing patients around the system like a hot potato.
- Give physiotherapists, chiropractors, chiropodists, denturists, dental hygienists, and speech-language pathologists the power to order and perform diagnostic imaging, including x-rays, MRIs, and CT scans.
And pharmacists — who have already proven they can be trusted health-care providers to prescribe for minor ailments — could get an expanded list of 14 new conditions to treat, plus authority to give more publicly funded vaccines and even administer Sublocade®, a medication used for opioid use disorder.
Translation: fewer trips to the ER for stuff that shouldn’t be clogging up the ER in the first place.
A Few Years (and Millions of Wait Hours) Late
Pharmacists have quietly been pulling a lot of weight since they were first allowed to prescribe for minor ailments in 2023. They’ve already completed 1.8 million assessments. The world didn’t end, and nobody set the pharmacies on fire.
“Expanding pharmacists’ ability to prescribe for more minor ailments, order lab and point-of-care tests, and administer additional vaccines will give Ontarians faster, more convenient access to care,” said Sandra Hanna, CEO of Neighbourhood Pharmacies.
Exactly. Because, you know, having to see a doctor for swimmer’s ear is about as efficient as asking a city councillor to fix your Wi-Fi.
Mental health advocates are equally thrilled — and probably wondering why this didn’t happen decades ago. Richard Morrison of the Ontario Psychological Association called the plan a “milestone,” saying it would reduce delays and let psychologists collaborate better with family doctors and nurse practitioners. Which would be great, because waiting months for an initial consult while your depression festers is not ideal health care.
Better Late Than Never
The government says this is all part of its Your Health: A Plan for Connected and Convenient Care strategy. Which sounds nice — though honestly, just not making people bounce between three different offices for a diagnosis would be a start.
Still, if the consultations go through, this could be the rare kind of “health system modernization” that actually makes life easier for patients, not just politicians.
Because sometimes “innovation” isn’t inventing a new gadget. Sometimes it’s just… finally letting experts do their jobs.
Want to see exactly what’s on the table? Check out:
