Health Care Services
Provided by
Your Pharmacist

Your pharmacist is a valuable member of your health care team. Working with you, your doctor, nurse, and the other health professionals, your pharmacist can help ensure the best decisions are made to keep you well and improve your health when needed. Under certain circumstances, your pharmacist can provide you with additional health care services.

 

Prescribing Drugs

Working closely with your doctor or other health care providers, such as nurse practitioners or other authorized nurses, dentists, optometrists, midwives, and podiatrists, Saskatchewan pharmacists who meet certain conditions are able to prescribe drugs in these circumstances:

• for minor ailments or conditions
• for emergency prescription refills
• to renew/extend prescriptions
• to change drug dosage/formulation

The following may prove helpful to you:

• Prescriptive Authority FAQs

 

Minor Ailments or Conditions

A minor ailment is generally a condition that is less serious for which you may not need to see your doctor. For some ailments, your pharmacist can provide you with a limited course of treatment with a prescription drug that may be more effective than an over-the-counter medication. Licensed pharmacists are able to prescribe drugs within their prescribing limits for the care of some minor ailments.

Examples of the type of ailments include:

 

Non-Prescription and Over-the-Counter Medications and Medical Devices

Consulting with your pharmacist when you require a non-prescription medication helps you to select the best medication. It also helps to avoid harmful effects caused by drug interactions with your medication therapy or worsening of your medical conditions. In situations where you may need to have a non-prescription medication or medical device prescribed for you, your pharmacist can provide this service. As well, you can ask your pharmacist's about alternative therapies.

 

Emergency Prescription Refills

To ensure you can continue the prescribed frequency and dosage levels of your medication, licensed pharmacists are able to continue existing prescriptions within the limitations of the SCPP bylaws. This allows you time to meet with your doctor or practitioner for a new prescription.

 

Low-Dose (Exempted) Codeine Products

Pharmacists who have completed the mandatory training to sell low-dose (exempted) codeine products as Schedule II drugs will assess every person requesting a low-dose (exempted) codeine product using evidence-based medSask guidelines, provide education and management strategies, and document the sale. Pharmacists who choose not to take the training and therefore choose not to sell low-dose (exempted) codeine products as Schedule II drugs will still provide education, management strategies and referral to an appropriate member of the health care team. See Low-Dose (Exempted) Codeine Products – Information for the Public.

 

Emergency Contraception

Plan B® may be purchased from a pharmacy without a prescription. This allows for optimal access to care and privacy while ensuring that pharmacists are available to provide additional information or answer any questions you may have. There are also prescription drugs and other alternatives available for emergency contraception. You may ask your pharmacist for a private consultation to determine the best option for you.

 

Adapting a Prescription

Working with you and your prescriber, your pharmacist can adapt a prescription by altering the formulation of the drug prescribed to more closely meet your needs (e.g. if you cannot swallow a pill, they can switch it to a liquid).

 

Administering Drugs, Including Vaccines, by Injection

Pharmacists who complete additional training (Advanced Method Certification) and receive special authorization from the Saskatchewan College of Pharmacy Professionals are able to provide injections for drugs such as vaccines. Flu shots can be provided to Saskatchewan residents with a valid Saskatchewan health services card. Please talk to your pharmacist about age restrictions and availability. This program is funded by the provincial government and therefore offerred to eligible residents at no additional cost. See the Ministry of Health's Influenza Immunization Program to find a list of pharmacies offering flu vaccinations in your area.

 

Vaccine Preventable Diseases and Travel Health

Pharmacists are able to prescribe vaccines and drugs for disease prevention in Canada and for international travel to people five years and older. Services may range from low-risk travel-health services to high-risk travel-health consultations. This service is voluntary, so pharmacists choose the level of services they want to provide. Regardless of the level of services offered, all pharmacists will follow the established guidelines for immunization.

Travel health services and travel vaccinations are not publicly funded. Pharmacists will charge the client for this consultation service and the cost of each vaccine they receive. However, pharmacists will refer residents to the public health system when appropriate. For more information on local pharmacies providing vaccine and travel-health services, check the Pharmacy Association of Saskatchewan website, or contact your local pharmacy.

Please see our helpful Travel Health Q-and-As.

 

Saskatchewan Medication Assessment Program (SMAP)

Are you getting the most from your medication? Do you take multiple medications or vitamins and herbal products? Are they all working together to give you the best possible health outcomes? Your pharmacist is a critical member of your health care team and can help ensure you are getting the most from your medications. The Saskatchewan Medication Assessment Program (SMAP) is a provincial government funded program offered by your pharmacist. The SMAP gives eligible patients the opportunity to meet directly with their pharmacist to discuss the medications they are currently using and to help reduce the chance of adverse medication incidences. Your pharmacist will also review your current conditions and look for ways to improve your overall health.

Visit the Pharmacy Association of Saskatchewan website for more information about the SMAP. Even if you are not eligible for the SMAP, your pharmacist is available to provide counselling to you about your medications. If you have a specific question or concern about your medications, do not hesitate to ask your pharmacist.

 

Smoking Cessation

Your pharmacist can help you select the drug therapy that will be right for you. For example, he or she can recommend and prescribe a medication to help you quit, if you are a suitable candidate. Your pharmacist is a valuable ally in your quest for a smoke-free life. Even if you have just started thinking about quitting, you can talk to your pharmacist about your options.

Some pharmacists have additional training through the Partnership to Assist in the Cessation of Tobacco (PACT) program. More information about the program and a list of PACT trained pharmacists. is available at the Pharmacy Association of Saskatchewan website.