Ontario broadening scope of practice of health professionals
Ontario has introduced legislation expanding the scope of practice of a number of health professions to improve access to care.
For example, nurse practitioners will be allowed to conduct ultrasounds and set a fracture; physiotherapists will be allowed to treat a wound; midwives will be able to place tubes in the nose or mouth of a newborn; medical radiation technologists will be able to give needles; and, dietitians will be able to prick the skin to check a patient’s blood readings.
The move was generally applauded by health professional groups. However, the Registered Nurses Association of Ontario said the government has not gone far enough to remove the “regulatory handcuffs” on nurse practitioners. It had been looking for NPs to be given the authority to admit and discharge patients in hospitals, and have broader prescribing powers to the ones they have now.
Bill 179 does give a number of professions expanded drug authority, but for NPs it only gives them the right to dispense, mix and sell certain drugs.
Pharmacists will be able to prescribe certain drugs to manage patient health and give certain substances through injection and inhalation to demonstrate their use or to educate patients.
The Ontario Medical Association is reviewing the legislation, cautioning that expediency should not be a substitute for patient safety. HE
E-prescribing starts in Ontario
Ontario has started Canada’s first e-prescribing program. This new tool is being developed by eHealth Ontario, the agency set up last September to guide the province’s e-health strategy which was subsequently released this March. Electronic prescribing is a key component of the Medication Management part of the strategy, and is expected to dramatically improve patient safety and quality of care by reducing prescription errors from illegible handwriting. Two sites are involved in a three-month demonstration project which started last month: the Group Health Centre in Sault Ste. Marie and Georgian Bay Family Health Team in Collingwood. Both are well advanced in the use of electronic medical records. (News release at www.ehealthontario.on.ca/media/news_releases.asp)
Ontario wait-time information system profiled
The success of Ontario’s Wait Time Information System is examined in a special issue of Healthcare Quarterly. An editorial by Ontario Hospital Association President and CEO Tom Closson says information technology good news stories rarely get recognized and, as a result, “The public and political leaders believe incorrectly that failure of government IT projects is almost inevitable.” The Wait Time Information System (WTIS) is a clear success. It was up-and-running in less than two years and, as of March 2009, is in use by 86 hospitals and tracking 2.2 million surgical procedures and MRI/CT scans. It is also being expanded to include more of the continuum of care such as wait times for alternate level of care patients. The special issue contains a number of articles with key lessons learned from the experience. It can be found at www.longwoods.com/product.php?productid=20744.
Hansard Highlights
In the Ontario legislature Wednesday, Health and Long-Term Care Minister David Caplan was grilled over the fact that the former Smart Systems for Health Agency spent at least $26 million on consultants’ fees over a five-year period. Mr. Caplan said e-health systems require “very highly technical” expertise and this investment pales next to the $50 billion the Obama administration is spending to implement an electronic health record for all Americans over the next five years.
On Monday, Mr. Caplan faced questions about a freeze on new registrations for family health teams. Mr. Caplan said the model is being reviewed, and he hopes to have the situation resolved “as quickly as possible.” The minister did not explain what the problem was but a ministry spokesperson told the Hamilton Spectator it had to do with “administrative back office issues with financial forecasting.” Progressive Conservative Health Critic Elizabeth Witmer said the freeze comes “at the most critical time of the year as medical school graduates decide where to practise.” She said they may choose to look elsewhere.
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