Consult your pharmacist rather than your doctor

Pharmacists in Quebec want the government to follow the example of an initiative by their Ontario counterparts to allow them to dispense drugs for more than a dozen common ailments.

• Read more: Ontario: Consult a pharmacist for certain health problems

“Hopefully that will change in the future. […] If we can certainly add some basic first-line treatment, I think it would be an advantage to do that in Quebec,” commented Mina Hashemi, a pharmacist at Jean Coutu, located at Christophe-Columbus in Montreal.

As of Sunday, Ontarians who visit their pharmacy lab with a health card can get a free prescription for 13 conditions.

In Quebec, there are many resources such as prescription renewal, vaccination, prescription of certain medications, especially for allergies, indigestion or contraception.

Avoid emergencies

However, legislation like Ontario’s is intended to help health professionals better support their clients and avoid emergency room visits.

“Of all the conditions, I would say it’s best that you diagnose UTIs because the symptoms are usually obvious and the patients are in pain and then they need to go to the emergency room or clinic,” said Ms. Hashemi.

However, Quebec pharmacists currently cannot treat this common health problem, such as cold sores or atopic eruptions such as eczema, unless you have a prescription that is less than five years old.

“We’ve made progress, but since Sunday, I think Ontario has overtaken us,” commented Mohamed Sabra, a pharmacist at Proxim in Rosemont-Petite-Patrie. I have many orphan patients and I am willing to do anything to help my clients [sans médecin de famille] “.

Additionally, a large portion of Quebec’s population may have to travel several hours to get to a hospital or clinic.