AMA calls for more training
January 14, 2013
CORE pharmacist training should
include components in how to
administer vaccine injections if
pharmacists are to be allowed to
give Australians seasonal flu jabs,
according to the Australian Medical
Association (AMA).
The comments come in response
to the Pharmaceutical Society of
Australia’s Draft Practice Guidelines
for the Provision of Immunisation
Services in Pharmacy, with the AMA
saying it would “not support
legislative changes to allow
pharmacists to administer injections
until such procedures were
included in core pharmacist
training, and were not just an adjunct”.
Speaking in the wake of the
Guidelines AMA President Dr Steve
Hambleton said “The AMA has a lot
of concerns with pharmacies
offering vaccinations”.
“There is no privacy.
“Patients need to be made aware
of possible side effects and discuss
their medical history.
“What private room can a pharmacy
offer a patient?,” he added.
In addition, the AMA said the
PSA’s draft guidelines could be
improved by ensuring appropriately
qualified and authorised registered
nurses also held a statement of
proficiency in CPR; pharmacies
were able to demonstrate
adherence to vaccine management
policies and protocols; and
ensuring consumers were asked if
they had a regular GP and, if so, if
they would consent to that GP
being provided with a copy of their
vaccination statement.
MEANWHILE the AMA also
expressed concern over nurse
practitioners giving flu shots in
pharmacy, with Hambleton saying
any nurse who administered a
vaccination must be able to
diagnose anaphylaxis.
“I want to know who will deliver
the needles, they need specific
training,” he said.
“What questions are asked before
the vaccine is administered? And
where will they record the
information?
“This fragments the health
record, because then we have
patients coming into the GP to say
they had some kind of needle at a
chemist,” he added.
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