Pharmacy Daily | Substitution key to tackling shortages

EMPOWERING community pharmacists to substitute medications that are in short supply with alternatives from the same therapeutic class, could help prevent unnecessary hospitalisations caused by patients running out of their medicines.

Addressing the State of the Industry panel discussion at the Australian Pharmacy Professional Conference on Fri, Pharmacy Guild of Australia National President, Trent Twomey, said introducing therapeutic substitution could help tackle supply chain issues "that are having very real material adverse affects to patient health outcomes".

Twomey noted the Therapeutic Goods Asministration's (TGA's) existing medicines shortage process, failed to take into account local supply issues.

"Something may be out of stock in regional Australia, or Western Australia, before it's out of stock in Canberra and the TGA realises it," he said.

"The system's not working... and too much of that burden [of tackling shortages] is being placed on us at the end of the supply chain."

Twomey said solutions would require a coordinated approach from originator and generic medicines manufacturers, wholesalers and the pharmacy sector, adding the expansion of pharmacists' scope of practice would be crucial.

"Continued Dispensing is a very real solution that we can have to ensure that someone doesn't run out when they don't have the bit of paper," he said.

"The other thing is therapeutic subsititution... something that is completely within our scope of practice, something that is being performed safely within hospital settings and can be performed safely within the current regulatory and professional environment that is a community pharmacy.

"If someone runs out of something we should be able to substitute within therapeutic class, without having to ask for another prescription.

"This stuff costs the Government nothing, it is safe and it is being done in other countries."