CANBERRA'S Capital Health Network (CHN) has announced a year-long extension of a trial examining the benefits of using non-dispensing pharmacists in three local general practices.
CHN ceo Gaylene Coulton said the first 12 months of the pilot program had already shown a number of benefits, including improving communication between GPs and the patients' community pharmacy.
One of the GPs involved, Dr Joe Oguns from the National Health Co-Op, said advantages have included optimised prescribing, patient adherence to medications and improved health outcomes.
He said having a pharmacist in the practice had also resulted in de-prescribing unnecessary drugs, as well as identifying and avoiding medication related adverse events.
The program is being evaluated by the University of Canberra.
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