ADVANCED Pharmacy Australia (AdPha) has called for improved patient access to medicines and patient equity in its 2025-26 Federal Pre-Budget Submission, with scope of practice, workforce sustainability and drug shortages its key member priorities.
Recommendations include the establishment of a dedicated Medicine Shortages and Discontinuation Clinical Advice Service, and national equity for patients' access to medications through bilateral Pharmaceutical Reform Agreements (PRAs) with NSW and ACT to achieve a "long-overdue" nationally consistent approach to the PBS.
"Until these PRAs are signed, we can never truly achieve equitable health care and patients continue to miss out," said AdPha President Tom Simpson.
Highlighting the need to remove barriers to full scope of practice, AdPha is calling on the government to expand the footprint of the proven and successful Partnered Pharmacist Medication Prescribing (PPMP) collaborative care model from hospitals into aged care and general practice settings, while also enabling pharmacists to prescribe medicines on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) under PPMP and other collaborative care models.
Simpson says both initiatives will improve patient outcomes, save costs and optimise the skills of the primary care workforce.
"PPMP improves timeliness, safety and quality of medicines management for patients, while at the same time supporting capacity for doctors and nurses," said Simpson, leading to reduced medication errors and patient length of stay in hospital.
Funding to harness the "under-utilised skills of pharmacy technicians" is one of several recommendations to build a stronger and more sustainable pharmacy workforce.
Read the submission HERE. KB
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