THE Society of Hospital Pharmacists of Australia (SHPA), the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia (PSA) and the Pharmacy Guild of Australia have joined to announce the launch of an Advanced Practice Collaborative, a think tank designed to progress advanced pharmacy practice in Australia.
Representatives from the three pharmacy organisations will meet quarterly to "examine barriers and enablers to Advanced Practice, review and monitor progress and adoption, provide advocacy and leadership and provide a liaison point for the profession and develop an action plan for implementation of Advanced Practice in Australia", the joint statement said.
SHPA said it would establish a body to oversee assessments of the individual impact of pharmacists' experience and expertise for Advanced Practice recognition.
PSA will undertake their own scoping for Advanced Practice assessment over the coming months as the new collaborative discusses strategies to drive a sustainable model.
Both PSA and SHPA would be responsible for implementing and maintaining the Advanced Practice Award standards and guidelines, the award assessment protocol and guidelines, the quality assurance process and guidelines for assessment agencies.
SHPA president Professor Michael Dooley said the timing is right to facilitate the return of an Advanced Practice process in Australia.
"It has been a strong year for all three organisations -- at SHPA, our new partnership with the Royal Pharmaceutical Society [GB] means the Advanced Practice Collaborative can draw directly on international research and experience to hit the ground running," Dooley said.
PSA national president Dr Shane Jackson said he was delighted the three major pharmacy organisations were working together on practitioner development and identifying support structures required.
Guild national president George Tambassis also welcomed the new collaboration across the profession saying, "I look forward to progress on this front in the interests of the profession, and most importantly our patients."
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