Pharmacy Daily | 97.2% of pharmacists compliant

PHARMACISTS have a higher level of compliance than other professions the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) audit data reveals.

In his monthly communique, Pharmacy Board of Australia Chair, Brett Simmonds, reported that 97.2% of pharmacists were fully compliant with the Board's registration requirements, compared to 93.6% of all AHPRA regulated healthcare professionals.

The annual AHPRA audit found there was no action required in the cases of the 2.8% pharmacists who were not fully compliant, who changed their registration type to non-practising or surrendered their registration after being advised they were subject to an audit.

No pharmacists were found to be "noncompliant", in contrast to 0.7% of registered health practitioners found to be noncompliant with one or more standard.

"The Board acknowledges the results of the audit as an indication that pharmacists understand and are meeting their obligations outlined in registration standards," Simmonds said.

"All Boards have adopted an educational approach to conducting audits, seeking to balance the protection of the public with the use of appropriate regulatory force to manage those practitioners found to be less than fully compliant with the audited standards.

"Since AHPRA began conducting audits in 2012, the majority of practitioners audited have been found to comply with registration standards," he said.

Analysis of the circumstances of non-compliant pharmacists demonstrated two clear groups: those residing overseas, and those no longer practising but maintaining registration.

The audits require practitioners to provide evidence in support of the declarations they made in the previous year's registration renewal application.