PHARMACISTS are increasingly being recognised as essential partners in diabetes care beyond simply dispensing medications, according to the Pharmacy Guild of Australia.
As National Diabetes Week concludes for 2025, the Guild is highlighting the role of pharmacists in helping Aussies manage diabetes, which affects more than 1.5 million people.
This year, National Diabetes Week focused on the prevention of Type 2 diabetes and the prevention of complications from all types of the condition.
"Pharmacies are embedded in communities and trusted by patients," said Pharmacy Guild Australia National President, Professor Trent Twomey.
The Guild has called for the national expansion of a pilot program operating in Qld, under which expanded scope allows community pharmacists to help manage type 2 diabetes.
Services being provided include initiating and adjusting medication, ordering pathology and collaborating with GPs and specialists in providing care.
Professor Twomey described the program as a "game changer".
"They mean faster access to care, especially in areas where wait times for doctors are long.
"They help ensure people with diabetes don't fall through the cracks," he said.
To facilitate the expansion, funding and appropriate training would be required along with digital integration.
"Pharmacists have shown they want to do more and, in many places, they're ready to do more.
"Australians living with diabetes deserve nothing less," he said.
Diabetes Australia Group Chief Executive Justine Cain said Australia is in the midst of a Type 2 diabetes epidemic, with one person diagnosed with the condition every eight minutes. ML
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