Pharmacy Daily | AMA takes shot at pharmacists’ scope

PATIENTS' safety will not be best served by introducing pharmacist prescribing models, the Australian Medical Association (AMA) claims.

Marking Medicines Safety Week, AMA President, Professor Stephen Robson, called for the preservation of the separation of prescribing and dispensing.

In a statement released this morning Robson once again criticised the Queensland State Government for giving the green light for the North Queensland Pharmacy Scope of Practice Pilot (NQPSPP), describing it as a "dangerous experiment".

"This is a model that promotes pharmacy profits at the cost of patient safety," he said.

"Pharmacists are experts in medications and medication management and the AMA wants to work with pharmacists to develop models where we can contribute more to the delivery of healthcare in this country in a safe and collaborative way.

"Unfortunately, we are seeing models being pushed that do the opposite.

"They fragment care and lead to negative health outcomes."

Citing the results of an AMA Queensland survey conducted in response to the Urinary Tract Infection Pharmacy Pilot - Queensland (UTIPP-Q), Robson reported that at least 240 patients suffered complications as a result of misdiagnosis during the trial.

The AMA claimed that pharmacists sold antibiotics that were "not only inappropriate, but dangerous" during the pilot.

Robson called on other State and Territory governments not to follow Queensland's lead in expanding pharmacists' scope of practice, and to "reflect on the real harm this has caused the community".

However, NSW Health Minister, Brad Hazzard, has voiced support for a trial of pharmacist prescribing for uncomplicated UTIs similar to the UTIPP-Q (PD 05 Oct).