A new report from the government's Productivity Commission has proposed the creation of a new class of pharmacy workers whose job would be to simply oversee machine dispensing.
The report is a "five year productivity review", which was sent to the government on 03 Aug 2017 then tabled in Parliament and made public yesterday.
It says pharmacy is a "key occupation where technology, antiquated regulation and changing models of integrated care converge at significant unnecessary cost to the nation".
A fundamental policy shift is suggested which would go "well beyond" the issues raised in the recent controversial Review of Pharmacy Remuneration and Regulation.
"A new model of pharmacy would adopt now-available technology - for example e-scripts and machine dispensing of drugs - and recognise retailing as incompatible with a genuine clinical function for pharmacists," it states, noting that the availability of "unproven and sometimes harmful medical products and confectionery at the front of the pharmacy is not reconcilable with an evidence-based clinical function at the back".
While immediate reform is not possible due to the constraints imposed by the Sixth Community Pharmacy Agreement, the report urges trials of pharmacists in multidisciplinary teams in Health Care Homes, tests of machine dispensing and indications to universities that "the industry structure sustained through government fiat is likely to eventually crumble, leaving young pharmacists exposed to large occupational risks".
It suggests the government should move away from community pharmacy as the vehicle for dispensing medicines, to a model that anticipates automatic dispensing in most locations.
"In clinical settings pharmacists should play a new remunerated collaborative role with other primary health professionals where there is evidence of the cost-effectiveness of this approach," the report suggests.
MEANWHILE the Pharmacy Guild has completely rejected the "ill-informed recommendations" of the Productivity Commission, saying they would see the "dumbing down of a revered health profession and inferior care for patients".
Describing the recommendations as an "astounding piece of short-sightedness," the Guild says the report displays an "appalling misunderstanding of the complexities and responsibilities required in the safe dispensing of prescription medicines.
"This irrational recommendation to deprive Australians of this direct personal care from highly trained medicine specialists should be roundly rejected by governments and by the community," the Guild response added.
To view the full Productivity Commission recommendations on pharmacy see www.pc.gov.au.
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