FULL scope of practice may be on everyone's lips at APP2025, but as Australasian College of Pharmacy CEO Amanda Seeto observed, while legislative changes seem to be coming at an increased rate, the shift in pharmacy practice will take a little longer to implement.
In opening the panel session 'Unlocking opportunities in down-scheduling and pharmacists prescribing' yesterday, Seeto said down-scheduling of certain medicines provides opportunities to expand patients' access to more medicines and offer services to complement those medicines.
Some of those medicines include Viatris's Relpax (eletriptan) for migraine, Dymista (azelastine and fluticasone) for allergic rhinitis and anti-inflammatory Celebrex (celecoxib).
When asked about the decision-making process for down-scheduling, Viatris Head of Marketing Robin Whitely noted that if the first port of call for a condition is the pharmacy and the pharmacist, it makes sense to give them the tools they need to deal with the problem, rather than send them to a GP for a consultation and a formal prescription.
Prescribing pharmacist and Guild councillor Cate Whalan highlighted the importance of collaboration with other health professionals, particularly GPs, more broadly: "Collaboration is medicine to treat turf war disease."
She also advised pharmacists not to be afraid to charge for a consultation with a patient, pointing out that patients are generally happy to pay.
Seeto concurred and said: "If we don't value our services, why should the government?"
Whalan also pointed out that scheduling changes go both ways, and the recent up-scheduling of paracetamol has led to opportunities to discuss other options with patients when they ask for it.
More broadly, discussing up- and down-scheduled S3 medicines with patients might mean sending them to their GP for a prescription and a more suitable product.
Now is the time to start practicing your consultation conversations, said Whalan, so pharmacists are comfortable with it, confident and ready for consultations under expanded practice.
Community pharmacist and teacher at the University of Technology Sydney, John Bell, pointed out that if pharmacists can show patients what they can do, patients will be influencing legislators on expanded scope.
There are also more opportunities for down-scheduling of other drugs.
Touching on Senator Anne Ruston's speech earlier (page two), Bell suggested if someone needs a medication on a Tue night and cannot get to a doctor, or if they need something on Sun morning or Sat evening, "that's a crisis for that person" to have to deal with.
"So we should be able to provide something relevant and effective to manage that person's condition in that situation."
In her final message to delegates, Whalan advised them to "embrace the change that's coming".
"Utilise AI to do those mundane things so you can get your staff out the front, having those conversations with patients." KB
The above article was sent to subscribers in Pharmacy Daily's issue from 21 Mar 25
To see the full newsletter, see the embedded issue below or CLICK HERE to download Pharmacy Daily from 21 Mar 25
