THE Unleashing the Potential of our Health Workforce - Scope of Practice Review report, released yesterday, confirms barriers to care and inefficiencies in the current health system for pharmacists.
Some barriers identified were limited awareness of scope, less preparation of, and support for, health professionals to practice their skills, as well as restrictions placed on those professionals who were remunerated by a fee-for-service payment system.
The report also proposes reforms to allow pharmacists to practice to the full extent of their training.
Led by Prof Mark Cormack, the independent review reveals how legislative and regulatory settings restrict scope of practice in primary care, with drugs and poisons legislation "inconsistently" impacting scope across locations.
The review outlines principles to expand care access, improve productivity, and encourage cross-disciplinary collaboration.
It recommends technology use and scope of practice reforms to maximise the contributions of healthcare workers across Australia.
Conducted over a year, the review presents 18 recommendations for immediate and future action.
A/Prof Fei Sim, National President of the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia (PSA), endorsed the review's focus on dismantling barriers affecting pharmacists.
"This review confirms PSA's view that inconsistent regulations and unnecessary restrictions are limiting patient access to quality healthcare," she said.
"It's time to implement all 18 recommendations."
Sim noted the alignment between the review's recommendations and the PSA's vision, emphasising the critical role of pharmacies in primary care and advocating for a collaborative, multidisciplinary model. JG
To see the full scope of practice report, CLICK HERE.
The above article was sent to subscribers in Pharmacy Daily's issue from 06 Nov 24
To see the full newsletter, see the embedded issue below or CLICK HERE to download Pharmacy Daily from 06 Nov 24
