Quebec’s 8,300 pharmacists have won the battle for permission to prescribe certain drugs and renew some prescriptions -- but the question of how they will be paid for the tasks remains unresolved.

Starting Sept. 3, pharmacists will be permitted to extend and adjust prescriptions, order and interpret lab tests and prescribe drugs for some minor conditions, with a goal of taking some pressure off clinics and family doctors.

Pharmacists are now trying to bang out an agreement with provincial government to get paid for the extra work before Bill 14 comes into effect.

Quebec Health Minister Réjean Hébert was keeping his cards close to his chest Tuesday, refusing to divulge any details of the ongoing negotiations.

The legislation, which follows similar rules established in several provinces after Alberta gave its pharmacists the new responsibilities in 2005, aims to shorten emergency room wait times.

Until now, many patients were forced to wait hours to see a doctor simply to get a prescription renewed.

Under Bill 14, pharmacists will be able to renew prescriptions, prescribe medication when no diagnosis is required and interpret laboratory data.

Specially trained pharmacists will be able to adjust a prescription, substitute a drug or prescribe medications.

“A lot of patients -- diabetic people, high blood pressure people -- surprisingly don’t have a regular doctor, a family doctor,” said pharmacist Andre Plante, adding that the new services will mean fewer crowded doctors’ offices.

Pharmacists won’t do the job of doctors, said Plante. They will not be permitted to diagnose medical conditions.

“We can adjust the medicine, see if (the patient) needs some blood tests, diabetic tests, and all that so it starts with the medicine. We won’t do the diagnostics.”

Plante, who will meet patients in a consultation room, said he expects business to be good.

“Probably 10 to 20 patients per day,” he said.

The details of how the services will be paid remain unclear.

The Quebec government initially agreed to cover the new services under Medicare, but has changed its mind. It now wants to shift to the public and private drug insurance plans.

In one advertisement, the Quebec Association of Pharmacy Owners (AQPP) suggests that all services not covered by insurance will be paid by the patient.

-With a file from The Canadian Press