On gift horses

I can understand the inclination to see an article on health reform in Alberta, and assume that something dubious must be afoot. But I can't see why there'd be too much concern about the province's decision to allow pharmacists to prescribe certain types of drugs:

Starting this fall, pharmacists who complete a training program will be able to give and refill prescriptions without a doctor's authorization for a wide range of chronic illnesses, such as high blood pressure and asthma.

They will also be able to administer vaccines.

Certain addictive drugs, such as narcotics, will still require a doctor's approval for prescription refills.

Now, I can understand the need to ensure that pharmacists don't start making difficult judgment calls where a doctor is better qualified to do so, and I presume the program will be monitored to that effect. But when it comes to repeated and/or routine prescriptions, the change looks to me like a win-win situation for patients. Those who only want to receive their usual refill will save possibly a trip to the doctor and at least some administrative wrangling in doing so, while still seeing a trained professional who can refer the patient to a physician if there's a need to do so. Meanwhile, those who genuinely need to see a doctor will have more opportunity to do so thanks to an incremental reduction in the doctor's workload.

Again, it's understandable to be suspicious of any Klein reform in health care. But this one looks like one which simply makes publicly-funded health care more efficient...and those of us committed to preserving a strong public system should be glad to see that kind of progress.

(via liberal catnip.)