Pharmacy Daily | Exclude VAD from the Criminal Code

THE Society of Hospital Pharmacists of Australia (SHPA) has supported independent MP Kate Chaney's push to amend the Criminal Code to permit telehealth consultations for voluntary assisted dying (VAD) services after the Federal Court ruled on Thu that they are illegal.

SHPA has voiced its support to the Attorney-General for the proposed bill scheduled early in 2024.

SHPA believes the definition of 'suicide' should also be updated in the Commonwealth Criminal Code to exclude VAD which would support practitioners to provide these services via telehealth within legal boundaries.

SHPA President Tom Simpson said the use of electronic communication to transfer information and prescriptions between prescribers, pharmacists, patients and their carers is essential to ensure equitable access to care, leaving no Australians disadvantaged.

"Patients seeking assessment for VAD, especially those from rural and remote areas, are uniquely disadvantaged by the current Code as most states only have one VAD service centre and pharmacy."

Without telehealth options, these very ill and vulnerable patients, or the VAD practitioners themselves, are forced to travel long distances to access or provide treatment, Simpson added.

"This is an unnecessary and inhumane hurdle these patients, their families and their care teams should not face.

"As a VAD-credentialled pharmacist myself, I know first-hand the challenges faced not just by patients, but by practitioners who want certainty that they are practicing within the law."

Simpson commented that if a doctor phones a pharmacist for advice on administering a VAD medication, the answer currently is 'I can't tell you that over the phone' - an answer that puts the focus on not breaching the Code, rather than recognising that there's a doctor and a patient at the other end of the line.

"In effect, VAD practitioners must currently choose between patient-centred care and legal-centred care," he said.

Simpson explained that medical and technological advancements have come such a long way since the Code was amended in 2005 to "protect individuals from being incited to suicide".

"Medical professionals can use telehealth appropriately to deliver VAD services and it is necessary to ensure all Australians, no matter where they live, can access these services," he said.

In the letter to the Attorney-General, SHPA outlined additional challenges imposed by the Code on pharmacy practice including the inability to provide administrative information to approved practitioners, training, transmit prescriptions electronically, discuss VAD medicines and administration, as well as respond to questions or even use a translator during telehealth calls. JG