Sask. pilot allows some pharmacists to test for ear infections, strep throat

Some pharmacists’ scope of practice is growing to include testing and prescribing medication for ear infections and strep throat.

Chad Miskiman, a pharmacy manager at a drugstore in Moose Jaw, looks at the project as a more polished way to get his patients the care they need.

“I think that my patients in particular, will find this as an added service being a trusted healthcare provider,” he said.

Eleven pharmacies across Saskatchewan will test for both ear infections and strep throat, while 37 other pharmacies will examine ear infections only.

Pharmacist Chad Miskiman said the pilot project is a great edition for patients. (Gillian Massie/ 980 CJME)

Miskiman said pharmacists are often the first point of contact when seeking care.

“Unfortunately, at this point in time, up until now, we weren’t able to offer much options for the patient or the parent, other than symptomatic management like Advil and Tylenol,” he said.

For years, Miskiman said pharmacists have been informally diagnosing these illnesses and hopes to see the pilot project expand to every pharmacy in the province.

The program includes 140 pharmacists who were trained by the Saskatchewan College of Pharmacy Professionals.

The provincial government committed $700,000 to expand pharmacists’ scope of care in September 2024.

Rural and Remote Health Minister Lori Carr said the program could expand across the province based on feedback from the project.

“We’re just wanting to do the pilot project to see if there are any gaps that we haven’t thought of or any pitfalls that we may need to address before rolling it out full scale across the province and ensuring that when people do present at a pharmacy that they are going to get the best service available,” she said.

The province has 430 licensed pharmacies with 1,300 pharmacists practising in Saskatchewan.

Pharmacies providing strep throat and/or Ear Infection Assessment