Strep throat and ear infection testing now available at some Sask. pharmacies

Testing for step throat and ear infections is now available at select pharmacies in Saskatchewan. 

The new services are part of a provincial pilot project. Eleven Saskatchewan pharmacies have been selected to offer step throat and ear infection assessments through a pilot project with the provincial government. Another 37 were chosen to offer only the ear infection assessments.

The pharmacies will also be able to prescribe and dispense medication for those conditions.

"By having pharmacists have an expanded scope of practice, individuals won't necessarily have to go to a doctor, they might not have to sit in an emergency room, they will have options," said Lori Carr, Saskatchewan's minister of rural and remote health. 

"So it's that entire scope of practice that helps with giving people the option of where they can get those services, and it doesn't necessarily have to be at a doctor."

The Saskatchewan government announced the project in September 2024, with initial funding of $700,000 for pharmacist training. The training allows for pharmacists to conduct rapid testing for strep throat, providing patients with results in approximately 10 minutes.

"Expanding the role of pharmacies will help address critical health-care challenges, improving access to health care, reducing wait times for treatment, and lightening the load on emergency rooms and other health-care providers," said Michael Fougere, CEO of the Regina Pharmacy Association.

Chad Miskiman, the pharmacy manager of a Rexall Drugstore in Moose Jaw, said the change would strengthen patients' trust in pharmacists.

"In essence we've been informally diagnosing things for years," he said. "People come in and give a list of symptoms, and currently all we have are over the counter options in the significant yet little list of minor ailments that we can provide assistance with."

The province said it will evaluate the pilot program and potentially expand it to more pharmacies in the future.

The Saskatchewan College of Pharmacy Professionals offers a list of pharmacies offering strep throat and ear infection services in Saskatchewan.