Minor Illnesses are health conditions that:

At Discovery Pharmacy, we aim to provide our patients with accessible, quality care. Patients may expect to fill out an initial screening questionnaire to help our team assess whether minor ailment prescribing with the pharmacist is right for you. After initial screening and assessment with the pharmacist, they may or may not decide to prescribe for your condition. If the pharmacist determines that they cannot provide you the care that is required, they may refer you to an appropriate healthcare provider. Should the pharmacist prescribe for your minor ailment, they may contact your family physician for continuity of care.

Pharmacists are one of the most accessible healthcare providers in the community and so have an opportunity to provide essential care. Prescribing for minor illness can increase a person’s access to timely, primary care. This in turn may help people who do not have a regular family doctor, reduce absenteeism in the workplace, and allow for insurance coverage of certain over-the-counter medications.

Pharmacists on Ontario can only prescribe for medications to treat the 19 minor ailments, within specific authorized drug classes. Pharmacists cannot prescribe any controlled substances (narcotics, targeted/controlled drugs) or any drug under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act and the Narcotic Safety and Awareness Act. Should a patient require treatment with any medications outside a pharmacist scope of practice or for a condition that is not a minor ailment, they should be referred to an appropriate prescribing healthcare provider.