Ontario wants to give nurse practitioners, pharmacists, physiotherapists and other medical professionals the freedom to provide a wider range of health services. Patients would get better access to health care and have more choices in who provides it.

The government will propose legislation later today that would increase access to care by:

• Allowing nurse practitioners, pharmacists, physiotherapists, dietitians, midwives and medical radiation technologists to deliver more services that they are now qualified to provide.

• Changing the rules for administering, prescribing, dispensing, selling and using drugs in practice for chiropodists and podiatrists, dental hygienists, dentists, midwives, nurse practitioners, pharmacists, physiotherapists and respiratory therapists.

• Removing restrictions on X-rays that can be ordered by nurse practitioners and enabling physiotherapists to order X-rays for specific purposes.

The Regulated Health Professions Statute Law Amendment Act, 2009 would also improve patient safety and strengthen the health care system by:

• Requiring health colleges to work together to develop common standards of knowledge, skill and judgment in areas where their professions may provide the same or similar services.

• Making team based care a key component of health college quality assurance programs which ensure the ongoing competence of registered health professionals.

• Requiring all regulated health professionals to have professional liability insurance.

• Creating a process to ensure new drug prescribing powers are used in the safest possible manner.