AUSTRALIA'S bushfire crisis has highlighted the broadening role pharmacists are playing in supporting patients, however the Pharmacy Guild of Australia believes the profession needs to be empowered to do more.
Writing in The Mercury, Guild Tasmanian Branch President, John Dowling, said the bushfires had shown the need for pharmacists to be allowed to provide greater access to asthma medications.
"Australia urgently needs to be brought into line with the UK and Canada, so people aren't forced to wait for a GP appointment just for a prescription for their asthma preventer," he said.
"Making asthma medication so difficult to access that it leads to such high rates of misuse doesn't make sense, especially when someone living with asthma has previously been prescribed the preventer by their doctor.
In light of the bushfire crisis, a lot needs to change.
"Access to asthma medication is just one.
"Pharmacists have the training to do more; after the bushfire crisis it has become clear pharmacists need to be playing a bigger role to help meet the health needs of their communities."
The above article was sent to subscribers in Pharmacy Daily's issue from 31 Jan 20
To see the full newsletter, see the embedded issue below or CLICK HERE to download Pharmacy Daily from 31 Jan 20
