The Government of Saskatchewan announced new training that will expand the services pharmacists can offer.
The training allows pharmacists to substitute medications under specific conditions.
Pharmacists will be able to find alternative medications with the training under conditions approved by the Saskatchewan College of Pharmacy Professionals (SCPP).
Some of these conditions include when there is a supply disruption or shortage of prescribed drugs, when a drug is officially taken off the market, when the patient’s safety is at risk and the prescriber cannot be reached in a reasonable timeframe, or if the patient is unable to take the initial drug and would benefit from a different drug with an alternative dosage or way of administering it, such as by mouth instead of by injection.
"Pharmacists are trusted, highly skilled health professionals, who, in many communities, are the primary access point for health-care services," Health Minister Jeremy Cockrill said in a press release. "Giving pharmacists the ability to prescribe alternative medications means Saskatchewan patients can benefit from more timely and accessible health care."
"Therapeutic substitution under Advanced Prescribing A enables pharmacists to respond more effectively to medication availability and patient needs," SCPP President Scott Livingstone added in the release. "By supporting access to equivalent therapies when a prescribed product is unavailable, this change helps minimize treatment delays and disruptions in care."
Nine other provinces and territories, to date, have implemented similar policies when it comes to therapeutic substitutions.
Saskatchewan has almost 1,300 practising community pharmacists in more than 430 licensed community pharmacies in the province.