Guild clinical review push
February 10, 2014
In the Pharmacy Guild of
Australia’s first pre-budget
submission to the government,
there has been a strong push for a
government sponsored clinical role
for pharmacists.
Guild national president George
Tambassis said: “The submission
includes a range of examples of
the broadening role of community
pharmacies overseas and outlines
a number of initiatives that should
be developed and implemented
through community pharmacy in
Australia.
“Around the world, it is
increasingly being recognised that
pharmacies are an integral part
of the solution to address health
expenditure issues, and it can be
the same in Australia.
“The submission also re-emphasises
the impact that price
disclosure will have on community
pharmacy viability in 2014-15,
and the urgent need for this to be
addressed.”
While supported strongly by the
Pharmaceutical Society of Australia,
whose pre-budget submission also
seeks a higher clinical profile for
pharmacists as “highly qualified
health professionals” whose skills,
knowledge and expertise are often
under-recognised and underutilised
(PD 03 Feb), the GP community has
reacted strongly.
The Australian Medical
Association (AMA) president Dr
Steve Hambleton, has told The
Australian that the suggestion is
an “appalling” waste of taxpayers’
money, especially when general
practitioners already conduct these
sorts of annual reviews, in suitable
consulting room environments,
with a higher level of training in
this specific area, experienced
ability to interpret results and
the skills to do something about
danger signs.
The Guild has emphasised that
this would take the pressure off
other, growing areas of government
spending such as aged care, the
hospital system and general
practice, as is demonstrated in
many other countries around the
world such as the USA, UK, Canada,
New Zealand, Scotlans, Portugal
and Denmark.
The Guild submission focuses on
aged care in the home, screening,
prevention and wellness checks,
minor ailments and triage,
adherence and compliance,
medication management post
discharge from acute care and
vaccination.
A significant element of the
submission is the inclusion of
appropriate Guild representation
in the next Memorandum of
Understanding (MOU) with
Medicines Australia.
The submission emphasises that
the MOU should not be “viewed
in isolation” from the 5th or 6th
Community Pharmacy Agreements.
The above article was sent to subscribers in Pharmacy Daily's issue from 10 Feb 14To see the full newsletter, see the embedded issue below or CLICK HERE to download Pharmacy Daily from 10 Feb 14
