The Ontario PC government is taking the next steps to strengthen our health-care system and make it easier for families to access the care they need, when and where they need it.
We are consulting on expanding the scopes of practice for a wide range of regulated health professionals; including optometrists, psychologists, physiotherapists, pharmacists and more. These proposed changes will give highly trained professionals the tools and authority to deliver faster, more convenient care, while reducing pressure on family doctors and hospital emergency rooms.
Under these proposed changes:
- Optometrists could perform minor surgical procedures, use laser therapy for cataracts and glaucoma, order diagnostic tests, and independently treat glaucoma.
- Psychologists with specialized training could prescribe certain medications, like antidepressants, and order or interpret select diagnostic tests.
- Regulated health professionals — such as dental hygienists, physiotherapists, chiropractors, speech-language pathologists and others — could order and perform diagnostic imaging like x-rays, MRIs and CTs.
- Pharmacists would be able to assess and prescribe for an additional 14 common ailments, administer more vaccines, and provide treatments such as Sublocade® for opioid use disorder.
These improvements would mean less time waiting in emergency rooms and walk-in clinics, and more time getting the care people need in their own communities.
Since January 2023, Ontario pharmacists have already completed more than 1.8 million assessments for common ailments, showing how empowering professionals delivers results. By further expanding scopes of practice, our government is unlocking even more capacity in the system, protecting Ontario’s health care for today and tomorrow.