Prescription powers being expanded

P.E.I. will spread out the power to prescribe drugs in response to a report released Tuesday reviewing health-care services on the Island.

Optometrists across P.E.I. will soon be able to give out certain kinds of prescriptions to their patients, and that will improve services for them, said Susan Judson, head of the P.E.I. Association for Optometrists.

"You would have to go to a night clinic or outpatients, or see if you can get in to see your family doctor, and of course that would mean a very long wait in some cases," Judson told CBC News.

"Most optometrists are much more accessible and can often see you in a few hours, and usually certainly the same day."

The province passed legislation last spring allowing optometrists to have certain prescription rights, and it is moving to provide some prescribing powers to pharmacists.

Judson said optometrists will be allowed to prescribe antibiotics, steroids and anti-inflammatories, and they already have the training to administer those types of drugs. A committee of optometrists, pharmacists and the Department of Health will regulate which classes of medication optometrists will be able to prescribe.

The change in prescribing powers is part of a general move towards having other health-care workers provide services that were previously provided exclusively by doctors. The move includes expanding the use of nurse practitioners and maximizing the training of registered nurses, licensed practical nurses and resident care workers.