THE Australian Association of Consultant Pharmacy (AACP) says it is experiencing a significant increase in its programs, with more than 2,400 accredited pharmacists across the country and over 400 currently enrolled in the platform - the highest level of engagement with accreditation since 2014.
AACP Board Chair Marc Apolloni said he believed the surge reflected a "small positive" from being forced to spend more time at home during the COVID-19 pandemic, with many pharmacists taking the opportunity to improve their knowledge and skills by working through the AACP online assessment program.
Apolloni (pictured), who owns a community pharmacy in South Australia, encouraged his colleagues to consider the benefits of accreditation and the associated ability to conduct Medication Management Reviews (MMRs).
"These programs will support improved health outcomes for your patients, add to your range of patient support options and potentially increase opportunities to collaborate with your local GPs."
Apolloni also noted recent changes to the Home Medication Review and Residential Medication Management Review programs which permit up to two funded pharmacist-initiated follow-up services after the initial review.
"There seems to be an increased awareness of the vitally important work that accredited pharmacists do, in terms of improving medicines safety, improving patient knowledge of their medicines and assisting medical practitioners to manage medicines both in the community and aged care settings," he said - more info at aacp.com.au.
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