Pharmacy can bridge gap
June 12, 2014
PHARMACY Guild of Australia
executive director David Quilty has
said pharmacy could play a role in
bridging the health gap between
major cities and rural and remote
Australia.
Writing in forefront, Quilty said
the disparity in health services and
outcomes between these areas,
including the National Rural Health
Alliance estimate that there was
a $2.4b a year deficit in access to
primary health care services in rural
Australia, was unacceptable.
Pharmacy could help bridge
the divide, with more than
800 pharmacies in rural areas
sometimes being the first port of
call and only readily accessible
health support, Quilty said.
Policy makers should recognise
this potential including for
pharmacies to take a greater
role in the likes of vaccines and
collaborative care, Quilty said.
Other opportunities included telehealth
hubs, diagnosing of minor
ailments and supplying identified
treatments through a recordable,
pharmacist-only medicines
schedule, he said.
National Rural Health Alliance
executive director Gordon Gregory
said the Alliance was delighted
to have the Guild advocating for
action to improve country people’s
health.
It was hoping to put together a
consortium to do a more thorough
study of the deficits and to provide
government with evidence of ways
to modify them, Gregory said.
A three pronged approach was
needed, including that health
graduates spent some time in rural
areas, that health care demand
be moderated through illness
prevention and that workforce
redesign occurred, where the
amount of clinical practice needed
was shared more efficiently, with
other members of the health
team performing what only more
specialised workers usually did in
urban areas, he said.
Rural Doctors Association of
Australia (RDAA) ceo Jenny Johnson
said rural doctors acknowledged
the importance of the pharmacist’s
role, however the RDAA would
have a number of reservations
about pharmacies extending their
role too much.
There did not appear to be any
evidence that it was easier to
attract a pharmacist to a rural role,
she said.
Rural GPs were important
because they were most likely
acting as a visiting medical officer
performing other roles such as on
call and emergency duties for the
local hospital, and shifting focus to
other issues could detract from the
focus of attracting doctors to rural
areas, and these other services
would suffer, she said.
There was a lot of potential for
collaborative care arrangements
and providing continuity of care
when it came to doctors and
pharmacists working together, she
said - CLICK HERE for more.
The above article was sent to subscribers in Pharmacy Daily's issue from 12 Jun 14To see the full newsletter, see the embedded issue below or CLICK HERE to download Pharmacy Daily from 12 Jun 14