THE Pharmacy Guild of Australia has welcomed recognition of the key role that pharmacies play during natural disasters in the newly released report of the Royal Commission into National Natural Disaster Planning Arrangements.
However Guild President George Tambassis said the report also highlighted the importance of continued dispensing during emergencies, and urged that the measure become permanent.
"The Australian State and Territory Governments introduced a number of temporary measures to address the difficulties in accessing medications during the 2019-2020 bushfires," he noted.
"To assist people who had lost their prescription or were unable to see a doctor, the Australian Government temporarily expanded 'continuing dispensing' arrangements...pharmacists were able to give patients a one-off, standard quantity of an eligible PBS medicine, without a prescription."
"Disasters and emergencies are by definition unpredictable, and we need to have this facility in place for when it is needed during a crisis," he said.
The 600-page report noted the key role primary care providers such as GPs and pharmacists played during the bushfires, saying they "supported patients and provided continuity of care when local health infrastructure had been disrupted.
"Primary care providers also have a role in ongoing clinical care, as they remain within the community for years after a disaster, managing its ongoing health effects," the report noted.
It also called for the inclusion of primary healthcare workers, including pharmacists, in disaster planning and management bodies.
Tambassis said making emergency supply measures permanent and nationally consistent would make life much easier for pharmacists.
'"It would mean our patients don't have an additional and unnecessary cost, or have to wait for action each time a crisis arises".
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