Getting a prescription for some more common medications and ailments will soon be a little bit easier.
The provincial government recently announced that it will be expanding the role of registered nurses (RNs) to prescribe and administer more medications in the hope that this change will connect Ontarians to faster and easier access to care.
RNs who complete additional educational training — registration for which is set to begin in January 2024 — will be able to work more independently in their community settings. They will be able to provide patients with birth control, travel medications, medication for smoking cessation, topical wound care in a variety of settings close to home, including long-term care homes and retirement homes and vaccinations such as the flu shot and COVID-19 vaccine.
Pharmacists have been able to prescribe for common ailments since Jan. 1, 2023.
The Ministry of Health hopes that expanding RNs' scope of practice to include these items will also give doctors and nurse practitioners more time to treat people with more complex needs.
“The recent decision from the Ontario government to allow registered nurses to prescribe certain medications is a big win for the nursing profession and another step forward in creating better access to care for patients in the community,” said Leanne Weeks, vice-president, clinical and chief nursing executive at Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre (RVH) in Barrie.
That decision, however, does not change care delivery at RVH, she noted.
“Registered nurses practising in acute-care settings are governed by the Public Hospitals Act, which prevents nurses from ordering treatments for hospital patients," Weeks said.
By making changes to allow qualified RNs to provide more care and administer the medications they prescribe, people will have more convenient access to safe care close to home, while helping to further reduce wait times at our community clinics and hospitals, Minister of Health Sylvia Jones, who is also deputy premier, said in a release.
“We are collaborating with health system partners and creating the standards that promote safe nursing practice,” said Silvie Crawford, executive director and chief executive officer of the College of Nurses of Ontario (CNO). “This includes ensuring changes in nurses’ scope of practice, including RN prescribing, are implemented safely for all Ontarians.”
The educational training programs that will be offered at certain colleges and universities are being developed and require approval from the Council of the College of Nurses of Ontario.
Additionally, the ministry of health is exploring the expansion of the scope of practice of nurse practitioners (NP), which could benefit patients by delivering timely access to care and ease stressors in practice settings.
