Ontario's pharmacists could soon be able to diagnose and write prescriptions for over a dozen new minor illnesses. But physicians in the province are warning this proposed expansion could severely harm a healthcare system that is already in a precarious state.
Dr. Dominik Nowak, president of the Ontario Medical Association (OMA) and a family doctor himself, said that the biggest concern are the impacts a misdiagnosis can have, not only on the patients’ health, but also in increasing the backlog in hospitals and emergency rooms.
Even mild symptoms that can look dismissible at first-sight can be behind more serious conditions, Nowak said. He doesn’t see the proposed measure as a way to alleviate the current crisis in health care.