The CMA denounces the practice, pharmacists are outraged:

“Despite their obvious skills, pharmacists don’t have the totality of skills to make sound clinical judgments,” said Gordon Pugsley, president of Doctors Nova Scotia. “It’s an enormous leap of faith to think that care can be delivered at the same high level by someone other than a physician.”

At their policy meeting, CMA members overwhelmingly endorsed a motion that reads: “The right to prescribe medications independently for medical conditions must be reserved for qualified practitioners who are adequately trained to take a medical history, perform a physical examination, order and interpret appropriate investigations, and arrive at a working diagnosis.”