TODAY marks World Pharmacists Day, with the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia (PSA) highlighting a parliamentary tribute to the profession last week by Member for Dobell and pharmacist Emma McBride.
McBride's statement to the House of Representatives last Thu saw her supporting World Pharmacists Day "emphasising our role as trusted sources of knowledge and advice for not only patients but other healthcare professionals.
"With medicine now the number one intervention in primary care, it's appropriate that pharmacists play a role in managing medication over the long term."
World Pharmacists Day, an initiative of the International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP), this year explores the theme of "Pharmacists: Your medicines experts and so much more".
FIP president Dr Carmen Pena said the annual day aims to celebrate "the extensive expertise that pharmacists have and put to use every day to ensure better patient health.
"This expertise is applied through science and research, through educating the next generation, and through transforming patient needs into services," she said.
PSA national president Dr Shane Jackson said Australia was missing out on the opportunity for pharmacists to do more with medicines by confining them largely to dispensing.
"Pharmacists, especially those in community pharmacy, want to have a suite of services available to them to be able to assist the patient in medication management," he said.
The Pharmacy Board of Australia has also recognised the professional expertise of pharmacists, with Board Chair William Kelly saying "as medicines experts, pharmacists perform an important function in a variety of healthcare environments".
He said World Pharmacists Day was a key opportunity to highlight the integral part pharmacists play in collaborative patient care across a variety of settings.
Today Emma McBride will celebrate the role of pharmacists during a visit to an atrial fibrillation screening site at the Westfield Tuggerah shopping centre on the NSW Central Coast.
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