Pharmacy Board updates guidelines
September 3, 2015
The Pharmacy Board of Australia yesterday released
revised guidelines for pharmacists on a range of issues,
with the updated documents taking effect on 07
December 2015.
Developed after wide-ranging consultation, key
changes include the removal of the former section
dealing with extemporaneous dispensing which has
now been published separately as Guidelines on
compounding of medicines, while the guidelines also
add new information on dose administration aids,
the treatment of electronic data and the provision of
complementary and alternative medicines.
Pharmacy Board chair William Kelly urged pharmacists
to read the new documents which are: (click)
• Guidelines for dispensing of medicines
• Guidelines on practice-specific issues
• Guidelines on dose administration aids and staged
supply of dispensed medicines; and
• Guidelines for proprietor pharmacists
Kelly said pharmacists are expected to review the new
guidelines and familiarise themselves with all changes
to ensure they comply in their practice from 07 Dec.
Titles of guidelines have been renamed to better
reflect their content, while the documents have also
been restructured to make them easier to read.
Other key changes in the dispensing guideline
include a new section on protection of electronic data, which addresses the specific risks to pharmacists’
electronically stored data, as well as further guidance
on the use of scanners when dispensing medicines in
Guideline 10.1 Scanners.
The practice-specific issues guideline updates
pharmacists on provision of complementary and
alternative medicines, including guidance that only
products of proven safety and quality should be
offered and patients should be provided “relevant
accompanying advice” to help them make an informed
choice, and where appropriate pharmacists should
record the supply.
Additional guidance is provided regarding dose
administration aids, covering labelling, packing of DAAs
by a third party and supply of oral cytotoxic and other
hazardous medicines in DAAs.
There’s also guidance about the initiation of periodic
administration of a dispensed medicine.
The updated guidelines for proprietor pharmacists
reflect current legislative requirements in regard to
registration, with a fact sheet detailing what’s needed
in each jurisdiction.
There’s also additional guidance on the
responsibilities of proprietor pharmacists, including
those relating to advertising, and facilitation of
employee pharmacists to meet the Board’s regi44stration
standards - for full details see pharmacyboard.gov.au.
The above article was sent to subscribers in Pharmacy Daily's issue from 03 Sep 15To see the full newsletter, see the embedded issue below or CLICK HERE to download Pharmacy Daily from 03 Sep 15
