10,000 pharm vax by June
May 21, 2014
MORE than 8,500 influenza
vaccinations have been performed
in the Queensland Pharmacist
Immunisation Pilot (QPIP)
underway in the state and 10,000
are expected by the end of May.
The trial, which is a joint effort
between the Pharmacy Guild of
Australia and the Pharmaceutical
Society of Australia (PSA) began
in April (PD 02 Apr) and 80
pharmacies are involved across
Queensland, 51 of which are Terry
White Chemists.
PSA Queensland branch president
Professor Lisa Nissen said the
pilot was moving quickly forward
and she expected it would have
administered 10,000 influenza
vaccinations by the end of this
month.
Queensland chief health officer Dr
Jeannette Young has said that one
community pharmacy group’s nurse
immuniser appointments had been
fully booked in 2013, with more
than 16,000 people vaccinated in
the influenza system.
Young said the trial would help
the state determine if pharmacy
administered influenza vaccinations
to those not covered by the
National Immunisation Program
were a good option.
The vaccinations had been
performed with no reports of
adverse events beyond the
usual expected side effects of
vaccination, Nissen said.
Previously, the Australian Medical
Association has said issues with
the trial included training and side
effects (PD 15 Jan).
The price range for the service for
the pilot was between $25 to $30,
with most pharmacies pricing the
vaccination at $25, Nissen said.
Pharmacy Guild Queensland
branch president Tim Logan
said about a quarter of people
immunised in the pilot were ‘walk
ins’, compared with patients
recorded as pre-booked.
Logan said feedback forms had
recorded that customers found
key benefits of the pilot were
convenience and the access of
pharmacists.
“This access and service will be
particularly significant in NQ where
a more severe than usual flu season
is anticipated.”
Nissen said the Guild and PSA
were working with the Queensland
University of Technology and James
Cook University to make sure the
pilot’s research outcomes were
robust and of the highest standard.
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