THE number of pharmacists registered with the Pharmacy Board of Australia is continuing to increase, the latest data from the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) reveals.
Despite reports of shortages of pharmacists for roles in community pharmacies across the country (PD 01 Oct), AHPRA's quarterly update showed the number of general registrants climbed by 89 in the three months to 30 Sep, compared to the Jun quarter.
The growth in general registrants was fuelled by an increase in registrations from 31,955 in Jun to 32,035, while the number of pharmacists with provisional registration fell by 37 in the quarter, and those on limited registration dropped by one.
The latest data also revealed the number of pharmacists holding non-practising registration had increased from 1,116 to 1,145 over the three-month period.
The AHPRA figures indicated a decline in the number of pharmacists under 30, which fell by 284 over the quarter, while the number aged over 65 years climbed by 56 in the last quarter.
The profession's gender balance remained at 62.8% female, in line with the last three quarters.
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