Expanded Scope of Practice

Page updated September 26, 2025

Background

Following recent expansions to the scope of practice for pharmacy professionals in Ontario, the Ministry of Health has announced a series of proposed changes that would expand scopes of practice for a number of healthcare professionals. As part of these changes, the Minister asked the College to draft enabling regulations that would:

  • authorize pharmacists to assess and prescribe for 14 additional minor ailments including:
    1. sore throat (acute pharyngitis)
    2. calluses and corns
    3. headache (mild)
    4. shingles (herpes zoster)
    5. acute insomnia
    6. fungal nail infections (onychomycosis)
    7. swimmers’ ear (otitis externa)
    8. head lice (pediculosis)
    9. nasal congestion (viral rhinitis, rhinosinusitis)
    10. dandruff (seborrheic dermatitis)
    11. ringworm (tinea corporis)
    12. jock itch (tinea cruris)
    13. warts (verrucae – vulgaris, plantar; excluding face and genitals)
    14. dry eye (xeropthalmia, dry eye disease)
  • authorize pharmacists to administer injectable partial opioid agonists and antagonists (specifically, buprenorphine)
  • enable pharmacists to provide additional routinely administered vaccines not currently listed in Schedule 3 of General Regulation 256/24 under the Pharmacy Act, 1991.
  • enable pharmacy technicians to administer all vaccines listed in Schedule 3 of General Regulation 256/24 under the Pharmacy Act, 1991.

The Ministry of Health has also asked the College to collect feedback and provide recommendations on potential laboratory tests and point-of-care tests (POCTs) to support minor ailments assessments. The consultation is limited to tests relevant to the 14 proposed minor ailments included in the proposed regulations. These recommendations will be provided to the MOH as they consider future changes to regulations under the Laboratory and Specimen Collection Centre Licensing Act (LSCCLA) to authorize pharmacy professionals to conduct these activities to support the minor ailments program.

Status

The College has posted the draft regulations and corresponding schedules on its website for a 60-day public consultation period following the Board’s approval of the draft regulation changes. The Board approved these changes during an in-camera discussion held at the conclusion of the public Board meeting on September 16th to respect a communication embargo at the Minister’s request which was in effect until September 17th.

Following the consultation, the Board will be presented with final regulation changes for approval at its December 8, 2025, public meeting and will submit the final regulations to the Minister by December 10, 2025. The College will bring to the Board additional details on proposed safeguards as expanded scope moves forward and will advise the Minister on an appropriate timeline to ensure a safe and effective implementation.

At this time there is no change to the scope of practice for pharmacists or pharmacy technicians.

Ongoing updates will be provided on this webpage, and key information will be shared in e-Connect and on official OCP communication channels.

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