College of Physicians welcomes powers granted to other professions under Bill 15

MONTREAL — Quebec’s professional order of physicians is welcoming a provincial bill that would give more powers to professions like nurses and midwives, but says it wants to see more details in the legislation, including specific training requirements.

The Collège des médecins says it is pleased the bill could expand powers for nurses to prescribe medication and to order tests and examinations.

Nurses in Quebec have had limited powers to prescribe for wound care and some other common health problems since 2016.

The provincial association of pharmacy owners and the professional order of psychologists in Quebec are also expected to provide their comments during special consultations on the legislation, known as Bill 15.

The order of doctors is making 12 recommendations and notes that it will be essential to harmonize regulations and standards of practice among professionals where activities may overlap, particularly when it comes to prescriptions and monitoring test results and requests.

President Dr. Mauril Gaudreault says the legislation’s success would also depend on the roll out of a new digital communication platform that allows providers to access and seamlessly share the health record of patients.

“All the openness shown by the Collège des médecins du Québec in recent years has been in order to recognize the competence of professionals,” Gaudreault said in an interview. “There are professionals who can do more things whose competence is unknown or poorly recognized.”

—

Canadian Press health coverage receives support through a partnership with the Canadian Medical Association. CP is solely responsible for this content.