The following statement was given today in the House of Assembly by the Honourable Tom Osborne, Minister of Health and Community Services:

Speaker, I rise in this Honourable House to recognize Pharmacy Appreciation Month and the more than 1,000 pharmacy professionals who work every day to meet the health care needs of Newfoundlanders and Labradorians.

Pharmacy professionals continue to play a significant role in our health care system. Often the first point of contact for health services, pharmacists are trusted members of our communities and core to our clinical teams and hospitals. They ensure that patients get the most appropriate medication, manage drug interactions, assess and prescribe for many common conditions, provide knowledge of over-the-counter products, train patients on medical devices, and administer many vaccinations.

Our government is proud to have worked with the Newfoundland and Labrador Pharmacy Board and the Pharmacists’ Association of Newfoundland and Labrador last year to give pharmacists a greater scope of practice and more autonomy than ever before.

By expanding the scope of practice, pharmacists can now extend prescriptions for patients to a maximum of 12 months and can assess for and prescribe hormonal contraception. They can also assess and prescribe for a total of 33 common ailments.

Our pharmacy professionals provide accessible health care across the province and are an integral part of our health care system.

Speaker, I ask all Honourable Members to join me in thanking our pharmacy professionals.