Health committee  Generally a best brains exchange brings together in a comfortable setting a variety of people who are free to speak their minds on a topic. They may have a lot of information. It's to draw out more details, more opinions, more thoughts. This is a way that has been developed, through the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, to try to combat some of those tricky questions we need to look at.

Health committee  You've asked a number of different questions in a number of different topic areas that are beyond issues related to the study here today. If you wouldn't mind, I would prefer if we could respond to those questions more specifically in writing, if you wish, so we fully understand their scope.

Health committee  It's a variety of people, medical doctors, scientists, pharmacists, a wide variety like that.

Health committee  At this time through our non-insured health benefits program, naturopathic medicine is not included as an approved—

Health committee  We have a pharmacy and therapeutics committee, and as my colleague says, we are looking.... As evidence comes forward, we put forward...so it's the same situation.

Health committee  Oh dear. That's a very broad question because it's more like what can a nurse practitioner do as opposed to a doctor. I honestly don't have the details with me. But there are more invasive procedures that a physician can do that, of course, a nurse practitioner can't do. The nurse practitioner is limited to diagnostics and prescribing within a certain range that is not as broad as what a physician can do.

Health committee  A nurse practitioner, according to the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, can prescribe controlled drugs if it is allowed on-reserve, if the nurse practitioner is working on-reserve or for the federal government, and if it is allowed by the province. So, for example, in Ontario, while the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act allows nurse practitioners, potentially, to prescribe controlled drugs, at this point in time the Province of Ontario has not allowed that.

Health committee  That's an interesting question, Mr. Chair. Right now, I think as you can imagine, staffing remote and isolated communities is very complex and very difficult. Although, as I described, in the first nation communities for the most part throughout Canada our mandate is public community health care, first nations people who live on reserve or in Inuit communities access the provincial health system for physician, dental, and even chiropractic care.

Health committee  Mr. Chair, I'd like to address perhaps the first question on the pan-Canadian health human resources strategy. Yes, Health Canada is very aware of this strategy and very proud of the work that we have done with the provinces and territories over the years on the development of this strategy.

Health committee  Absolutely. I'd be happy to ensure that any reports the group has provided, public reports and things like that, are provided to the committee. You also talked about planning. As part of the work of this committee, they do a lot of work in modelling in health care, such as the number of nurses.

Health committee  Thank you, Mr. Chair and members of the committee. I am here this morning to provide you with an overview of Health Canada's role and work on the subject of scope of practice for health professionals. I'd like to begin by stating that scope of practice is defined in many ways by different players in the health care system, both at the national and provincial levels, including ministries of health and education, regulatory bodies, credentialing bodies, national and provincial professional associations, education bodies, and employers.

Health committee  Yes, I'd be pleased to answer that question, Madam Chair. We have recently conducted a study within our NNADAP, the national native alcohol and drug abuse program, treatment centres to really look at the extent of prescription drug and polydrug use of people seeking treatment through these centres.