Nurse practitioners, Advanced Care Paramedics, and pharmacists in Saskatchewan will see their range of responsibilities widen within the next year.

Through their Health Human Resources Action Plan to recruit, train, incentivize, and retain health care workers, the Government of Saskatchewan is broadening the scopes of practice for various health care professions.

Health Minister Paul Merriman says pharmacists will be able to independently prescribe certain medications, order lab testing and draw small blood samples. Nurse practitioners will be given privileges to admit and discharge patients in some hospitals, conduct initial examinations, and sign death certificates for residents in long term care, among other responsibilities. Advanced care paramedics will be allowed to perform suturing for minor wounds and cuts. Although these professionals are being dealt with additional responsibilities, the changes intend to improve patient experiences, build primary care capacity, ease health care system pressures and increase access to timely care. Saskatchewan is now on par with many other Canadian jurisdictions, and health care facilities will see these changes implemented over the next year.