PHARMACISTS must grasp the opportunity of being able to deliver medication reviews via telehealth, but should not use the platform as the default setting for all consultations.
Speaking on a webinar last night, the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia's (PSA) lead negotiator for the Seventh Community Pharmacy Agreement (7CPA), Shane Jackson, welcomed the introduction of telehealth to support quality use of medicines.
"It is important to realise at this point in time this is to deal with the COVID-19 challenge that we have today," he said.
"The PSA maintains that these services are best delivered face-to-face, but delivery via telehealth - video conferencing and telephone - enable us to deliver those services.
"It shouldn't be the default - some of us who read the medical journalism, we're seeing reports around McTelehealth and through-put, it's a default that it's telehealth [for GP consultations].
"What we can't have is a default to telehealth - patients need to know that this is an option, [and] patients need to consent to that process."
Jackson stressed the importance of maintaining access to medication management services, including MedsCheck, Diabetes MedsCheck, Home Medicines Reviews and Residential Medication Management Reviews, for at-risk patients during the COVID-19 crisis.
"In late Oct last year we had [Federal Health] Minister, Greg Hunt, and all the other [state and territory] health ministers agree for medicines safety to be a National Health Priority Area," he said.
"We don't want that to be neglected, and we don't want six months of low levels of medication reviews being done.
"This allows pharmacists to have an alternative for those at people at risk."
He also urged pharmacists to pay close attention to the program rules and the recently released Professional Guidelines for Service Delivery, to ensure they are patients that meet the eligibility criteria for Home Medicines Review (HMRs) and Residential Medication Management Reviews (RMMRs).
"You don't want to fall foul of doing the wrong thing from a claiming and delivery point of view, so you're not delivering the service to someone you should have, or outside payment rules," he said.
"You don't want to have to pay back the money."
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