At a press conference on Sunday, Health Minister Sylvia Jones said the province has added six more common diseases to the list of conditions that pharmacists can diagnose and treat, effective immediately, bringing the total to 19.

Jones stated at the press conference that in less than a year, Ontario has become one of the top jurisdictions across Canada offering healthcare services through pharmacies.

The province also granted pharmacists the authority to prescribe medications for 13 common diseases at the beginning of the year, and Jones noted that 89% of pharmacists are now participating in the program.

She mentioned that 400,000 assessments have been conducted across Ontario since the initiative began.

Acne, sores, and infections have been added to the list, along with nausea and vomiting related to pregnancy, diaper rash, and parasitic worms such as pinworms and roundworms.

Initially, pharmacists were enabled to prescribe for conditions such as hay fever, oral thrush, conjunctivitis, dermatitis, hemorrhoids, and urinary tract infections.

The prescription program is one of the cornerstones of the province's plan to reduce the significant healthcare backlog. Jones said progress has been made on this front, with surgical waitlists and average time spent in the emergency room decreasing.

The Ministry of Health has also sought feedback on a plan to allow pharmacists to prescribe flu medications, administer flu vaccines to infants, and provide respiratory syncytial virus vaccines, when available, ahead of the expected fall virus surge.

The most controversial issue is that the Progressive Conservative government passed a health reform bill in May that would allow private clinics to provide certain publicly funded surgeries and procedures.

Here is the list of all the diseases that a pharmacist can treat:

ACNE.

Allergic rhinitis.

Oral candidiasis (oral thrush).

Sore lesions.

Conjunctivitis (bacterial, allergic, and viral).

Dermatitis (atopic, eczema, allergic and contact).

Rash.

Dysmenorrhea.

Gastroesophageal reflux.

Hemorrhoids.

Herpes simplex (cold sores).

Impetigo.

Insect bites and hives (urticaria).

Tick bites, post-exposure prophylaxis for Lyme disease.

Sprains and musculoskeletal spasms.

Nausea and vomiting related to pregnancy.

Parasitic worms (pinworms and roundworms).

Urinary tract infections.

Yeast infections.

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