Monday, May 11, 2026
Ontario Expanding Scope of Practice for Pharmacists and Other Health Professionals
Province allowing pharmacists to administer additional vaccines for six diseases and prescribe for nine more common ailments
To protect Ontario’s health-care system and provide more connected and convenient care to people around the province, the government is allowing pharmacists to administer additional publicly funded vaccines that protect against six diseases and assess and prescribe for a further nine common ailments. This historic expansion of their scope of practice will improve access to care and reduce pressure on the health-care system by empowering health professionals to provide care to the full extent of their training and making pharmacies a one-stop location for convenient, everyday care.
“Our government is delivering on our plan to make it more convenient for people to access the care they need, closer to home,” said Sylvia Jones, Deputy Premier and Minister of Health. “Ontarians have experienced firsthand the convenience of pharmacist prescribing and today’s announcement continues our progress to reduce wait times and let more of our province’s health-care professionals work to the full extent of their expertise”.
Beginning July 2026, pharmacists across the province will be able to administer six additional publicly funded vaccines for eligible Ontarians, including:
- Tetanus
- Pertussis
- Diphtheria
- Pneumococcal
- RSV
- Shingles vaccines
Under the current model, these publicly funded vaccines are only available to patients through a visit to a doctor’s office, walk-in clinic or other clinical settings. Under the new expanded scope of practice, families will now be able to receive critical vaccines more easily at thousands of additional locations across the province, with pharmacy technicians and qualified staff able to administer all eligible vaccines.
The province is also allowing pharmacists to assess and prescribe for nine additional common ailments, with plans to add up to five more in early 2027, bringing the total expanded number up to 33. Starting July 2026, pharmacists and qualified healthcare practitioners will be able to treat the following ailments:
- Calluses and corns
- Dandruff
- Dry eye
- Head lice
- Jock itch
- Mild headache
- Nasal congestion
- Ringworm
- Warts
This expansion builds on the province’s previous actions to increase scope of practice which has seen Ontario pharmacies provide care in over 2.4 million assessments for the first 19 common ailments. Today, over 99 per cent of all Ontario’s pharmacies now participate in the program, connecting people to care in every corner of the province.
In addition to these changes, the government has now officially directed Ontario’s regulatory colleges for optometrists, physiotherapists, chiropractors, dental hygienists, denturists, and audiologists and speech-language pathologists to begin developing the regulatory framework that would further expand scopes of practice in their fields.
These future expansions will unlock additional capacity across the system by enabling professionals to deliver treatments and perform more procedures, helping people get faster access to care. Once implemented, these changes will improve access for those in rural, northern, Indigenous and underserved communities, while reducing wait times and easing pressure on primary care and emergency departments.
As part of Your Health: A Plan for Connected and Convenient Care, the Ontario government is strengthening all aspects of the health-care system, including making it easier for highly skilled, regulated health-care professionals, like pharmacists, to work to the full extent of their training and expertise to provide people more connected and convenient care.
Quick Facts:
- Pharmacist assessment of common ailments began in January 2023, with an initial 13 ailments, and was expanded in October 2023 to include six additional ailments.
- Ontario is not proceeding with scope expansions related to psychologists at this time, given the ongoing governance review involving the College of Psychologists and Behaviour Analysts of Ontario.
- The province also allows pharmacists to administer certain injection and inhalation treatments so they can better care for people who need help taking certain medications, such as insulin, vitamin B12 or osteoporosis treatment.
- On July 1, 2022, regulatory amendments came into force under the Laboratory and Specimen Collection Centre Licensing Act, allowing pharmacy professionals to collect specimens and perform the following point-of-care tests for the purpose of medication management to treat chronic disease: Glucose, HbA1c, Lipids, and PT/INR.
Quotes:
"Pharmacists play a critical role in improving access to timely, high-quality health care across Ontario, and expanded scope enables them to meet patients where and when care is needed most. At the Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy, we are training practice ready pharmacists—through innovation, hands on learning and an accelerated, three-year Doctor of Pharmacy program—to fully deliver on this expanded role. Today’s announcement strengthens our health system by ensuring Ontarians benefit from a workforce prepared to provide care now and into the future."
- Dr. Lisa Dolovich, Dean, Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Toronto
"The Ontario Pharmacists Association welcomes the Ontario government’s ongoing efforts to expand the scope of practice for pharmacy professionals. Building on the strong foundation of community pharmacy, these changes will enable pharmacists to treat more minor ailments and deliver a broader range of routine vaccines—making it easier for patients to access care close to home. Pharmacy professionals remain one of the most accessible points of care, and this expansion is a practical step forward. We look forward to continuing to work with the province to improve access to care for Ontarians."
- Justin Bates, Chief Executive Officer, Ontario Pharmacists Association
"We applaud the Ontario government’s continued leadership in improving access to care for patients across the province. Ontarians have consistently told us they value the accessible and trusted care they receive from their community pharmacies and want pharmacy teams to play a greater role in delivering health care closer to home. Expanding access to minor ailments assessments and publicly funded vaccines through pharmacies will help improve timely access to care in communities across Ontario. These important enhancements will help strengthen the health-care system and help Ontarians access the care they need, when and where they need it most."
- Sandra Hanna Chief Executive Officer, Neighbourhood Pharmacy Association of Canada
"The Ontario Association of Optometrists is encouraged by the government’s commitment to advancing scope of practice. These changes recognize the training and expertise of optometrists and represent a meaningful step toward modernizing eye care in Ontario. By enabling optometrists to provide a broader range of services, patients will benefit from faster access to care, improved outcomes and reduced pressure on emergency departments, supporting a more efficient health system. We look forward to continuing to work with government to build on this progress."
- Dr. Shaina Nensi, President, Board of Directors, Ontario Association of Optometrists
"The OPA celebrates this announcement by Minister Jones and its recognition of the role of physiotherapists in expanding timely access to care for patients. Enabling physiotherapists to order diagnostic imaging supports efficient, effective and accessible care for patients across Ontario. With increasing integration and optimization of our professional scope of practice, we are better positioned to work with interprofessional primary care teams and in combination with the promise of expanding digital access, physiotherapists are not only ready— but now empowered— to play a greater role in Ontario’s health system. We look forward to our continued collaboration with the Ministry of Health and the College of Physiotherapists of Ontario as we work together to bring this change to life for patients."
- Sarah Hutchison and Charlotte Anderson, Chief Executive Officer and President, Ontario Physiotherapy Association
"The Ontario Chiropractic Association has long advocated to expand scope of practice for chiropractors to match their training and expertise in musculoskeletal care to support patients in Ontario. We are pleased to see the Ontario government taking steps to authorize chiropractors to directly order diagnostic ultrasounds for their patients. On behalf of our 4,000 members, we want to thank the government for moving forward with this change to provide patients in Ontario with more connected, timely, and convenient care closer to home."
- Caroline Brereton, Chief Executive Officer, Ontario Chiropractic Association
"The Ontario Dental Hygienists’ Association applauds the government’s decision to move forward scope enhancement for Registered Dental Hygienists (RDHs). Authorizing RDHs to prescribe X-rays, be designated as Radiation Protection Officers, and administer local anesthetic by injection will significantly improve access to comprehensive oral care for all Ontarians. We thank Minister Jones for her leadership on this initiative and look forward to continuing to work collaboratively with the government and the College of Dental Hygienists of Ontario to enable RDHs to practise more fully within their scope of practice and provide important preventive oral care services to more Ontarians."
- Marg Harrington, Chief Executive Officer, Ontario Dental Hygienists Association
"We welcome the Minister of Health’s announcement and the directive to the regulatory college as a significant step toward modernizing the Denturist’s scope of practice. This initiative reflects a thoughtful and evidence-informed approach to strengthening the health-care system and improving timely access to care. As the DAO, we are committed to collaborative, team-based leadership that advances shared priorities. We recognize and appreciate the government’s continued engagement and leadership in supporting regulatory advancement to scope of practice that benefits both providers and patients. We look forward to working alongside health care and regulatory partners throughout this process to help ensure implementation is practical, sustainable and centred on delivering high-quality, accessible care for Ontarians."
- Anas Al Halabi President, Denturists Association of Ontario
"SAC welcomes the Ontario Ministry of Health’s direction to expand scopes of practice to enable speech-language pathologists to order videofluoroscopic swallow studies as well as order and apply diagnostic ultrasound. When implemented, these changes will recognize our profession’s training and knowledge and will improve access to timely, evidence-based assessment and treatment across the lifespan. SAC looks forward to working collaboratively with government and regulatory partners to support implementation in the best interest of Ontarians."
- Luciana Nechita, Chief Executive Officer, Speech-Language & Audiology Canada
Additional Resources:
Media Contacts:
Ema Popovic
Minister Jones’ Office
ema.popovic@ontario.ca
Media Relations
Communications Branch
media.moh@ontario.ca
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