Province wants public feedback before giving RNs more powers

TORONTO The Ontario government is looking for public feedback on a proposal that would give registered nurses the power to prescribe certain medications including contraceptives, immunizations and smoking cessation drugs.

Under the plan proposed by the College of Nurses of Ontario, which regulates the profession, nurses would also be permitted to prescribe drugs related to wound care and travel health.

A spokeswoman for provincial Health Minister Christine Elliott said the change could improve convenience for patients and help free up physicians to do more complex work.

“This is a basic change that can save time and money, and get Ontarians healthier quicker,” Hayley Chazan said in a statement.

In 2017, the previous Liberal government amended the law to allow registered nurses to prescribe some medications, but then tasked the college with researching and designing the necessary regulatory changes.

The college said it spent two years consulting with the public, nurses and other stakeholders in the field to develop a plan. That feedback found nurse prescribing would lead to quicker access and shorter wait times for certain services, the college said in a statement.

“Our priority is that RN prescribing will be safe for patients, and we will provide the regulatory oversight needed to promote safe and ethical prescribing,” college spokeswoman Angela Smith said.

The Registered Nurses’ Association of Ontario has been calling on the provincial government to expand the scope of practice for the profession since 2012. CEO Doris Grinspun said the change could make the most of limited resources in the health-care system.

“This will move us in the direction of people being cared for in the right place and time by the right professionals,” she said.