It could soon be a lot easier to fill a prescription in Ontario. The province's health minister is set to outline a plan to allow medications to be dispensed by vending machines.

The province's health minister, David Caplan, will introduce legislation next week that will allow special drug-dispensing machines to do the work. Caplan announced Wednesday the proposed changes to the Drug and Pharmacies Regulations Act (DPRA) and the Ontario Drug Benefit Act (ODBA), noting it's a good way to expand access to health care in the province.

"Remote drug dispensing is beginning to emerge as a viable alternative to the traditional pharmacy. We want to make it easier for patients to get the medications they need, and we want to do it in a way that ensures patient safety and is cost effective."

The machines will have a video screen that will let patients see and speak to a pharmacist in a remote location. The patient will insert their prescription slip into the machine, which will scan it and transmit the information to the pharmacist.

The patient will then pick up the phone and speak with the pharmacist, who would check to make sure the prescription is safe and appropriate. Once the request is approved, the machine will dispense the pills.

Patients can pay on site, and only have to wait five to 10 minutes for their prescription.

Officials say the machines won't stock narcotics but will have more than 200 of the most commonly prescribed drugs, including antibiotics and high blood pressure medication.

Caplan says remote dispensing would allow increased access to medication for patients, especially those in remote areas of the province, where pharmacies often don't stay open late. The technology could also potentially reduce the cost of drug distribution, he says.

As a pilot project that began in June 2008, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre has two dispensing machines in use - one for out-patients and one for inpatients. They are called the PharmaTrust Med Centre dispensary, are were developed by PCA Services Inc. of Oakville, Ont.

The kiosk won't replace the need for pharmacies or pharmacists. And Caplan says the Ontario College of Pharmacists would be responsible for accrediting, monitoring and enforcing the regulatory requirements for these new types of drug dispensing systems.

The hope is to make the machines more widely available across Canada in the next year.