One-sided arguments

Extending prescription privileges to non-physicians is concerning for multiple reasons. Many of these concerns have been rightfully identified and include inherent conflicts- of-interest of other professionals and arguably limited training & experience in prescribing and management practices in the training programs of mainly pharmacists and NPs respectively.

Another subtle yet significant challenge which has not gained much attention however, is how extending such privileges is affecting medical student choice of selecting Family Medicine as a career. Certainly, one of the reasons bright and motivated students are attracted to postgraduate FM training is because of the challenges it entails. If prescribing privileges are extended to those who have undergone a different training course, there exists the possibility of perpetuating a wrongful perception that our training is not as much valued. This is an area that deserves to be further studied and is one that governments must seriously consider before implementing paradigm- shifting-laws. Many in the physician and non-physician communities see these practices as shortsighted and is something that cannot be ignored.