At its September 19th meeting, the Board of Directors discussed categories of minor ailments that were recommended by the Scope of Practice Advisory Group (SPAG) following a request from the Minister of Health to explore the addition of further minor ailments, including those that may require additional scope of practice expansions to support safe and effective prescribing.
Board members were presented with the rationale for the ailments and therapies under each category and considerations for determining which minor ailments and therapies should be added to pharmacists’ scope of practice.
Following their discussion, the Board approved that the following list of minor ailments be recommended to the Minister of Health for consideration, prior to the development of draft regulations, on the understanding that some of these may be subject to conditions or restrictions to be determined.
- Acute pharyngitis (sore throat)
- Birth control
- Calluses and corns
- Emergency contraception
- Erectile dysfunction
- Headache (mild)
- Herpes zoster (shingles)
- Minor sleep disorders (insomnia, could also include disturbances in circadian rhythm)
- Onychomycosis (fungal nail infections)
- Otitis externa (swimmers’ ear)
- Pediculosis (head lice)
- Rhinitis – viral (nasal congestion)
- Seborrheic dermatitis (dandruff)
- Tinea corporis (ringworm)
- Tinea cruris (jock itch)
- Verrucae (vulgaris, plantar) (warts)
- Xerophthalmia (dry eye)
The College will continue to share updates on expanding scope of practice as they are available.