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<\/p>\nManitoba\u2019s Progressive Conservatives are promising to expand the scope of practice for pharmacists if elected, saying the change would help improve access to health care across the province, particularly in rural communities.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Improving access closer to home\u00a0<\/p>\n
Speaking from a pharmacy in Morden on Monday morning, the party\u2019s new leader, Konrad Narth, said pharmacists are often among the most accessible health-care professionals for Manitobans, especially in communities where getting a doctor\u2019s appointment can require travel and long wait times.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cFor many Manitobans, a pharmacist is one of the most accessible and trusted healthcare professionals that they have,\u201d he said. \u201cIn communities across Manitoba, pharmacies are often just down the street, while getting an appointment with a doctor can mean traveling to other communities and waiting days to make appointments.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
He said the party\u2019s plan is aimed at making better use of health-care professionals who are already working in local communities.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Related stories:<\/p>\n
Helping doctors focus on complex needs\u00a0<\/p>\n
Narth said the proposal is not about replacing doctors and nurses but about easing pressure on the broader health-care system.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe believe that we can do better by making better use of the health care professionals we already have,\u201d he said. \u201cOur goal is simple. Make more care available closer to home, while freeing up doctors to focus on more complex medical needs.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
He said improving access to care is also connected to affordability, noting that taking time away from work or family responsibilities to attend appointments can come with a real cost.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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Manitoba behind other provinces, Cook says\u00a0<\/p>\n
Kathleen Cook, Shadow Minister for Health, said expanding pharmacists\u2019 scope of practice would bring Manitoba more in line with other provinces.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cExpanding pharmacists’ scope of practice is not radical,\u201d Cook said. \u201cThis is how Manitoba finally catches up to other provinces. Manitoba pharmacists have the most restricted scope of practice in Canada. Manitoba has the lowest number of authorized pharmacy services in the country.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
She added that expanding the role could also help with recruitment and retention, saying a Pharmacists Manitoba survey found 62 per cent of students at the University of Manitoba\u2019s College of Pharmacy are considering relocating to another province to make better use of their training.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Bill would expand prescribing powers\u00a0<\/p>\n
Cook said she introduced Bill 240, the Pharmaceutical Amendment Act, in the legislature on Wednesday, October 14. The bill would allow pharmacists to prescribe and treat many common diseases and conditions.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThis bill would expand the scope of practice for pharmacists to prescribe and treat for many common diseases and conditions,\u201d Cook said. \u201cPharmacists are highly trained professionals who have the capacity to deliver a wide range of care.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
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Kathleen Cook<\/p>\n
Cook said examples could include a parent seeking care for a child with a sore throat, or someone dealing with nausea, a rash, or pink eye. She said patients who can safely receive care from a pharmacist may not need to visit a walk-in clinic, urgent care centre, or physician for the same service.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Commitment aimed at stronger system\u00a0<\/p>\n
Cook said allowing pharmacists to work to their full potential would increase capacity, improve access, and help reduce demand on urgent care and walk-in clinics.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are committed to building a stronger, more accessible healthcare system for Manitobans,\u201d Cook said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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Morden-Winkler MLA Carrie Hiebert at Monday’s announcement<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Manitoba\u2019s Progressive Conservatives are promising to expand the scope of practice for pharmacists if elected, saying the change…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":939653,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[49,48,84,392],"class_list":["post-939652","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-healthcare","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-health","tag-healthcare"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/939652","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=939652"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/939652\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/939653"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=939652"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=939652"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=939652"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}