MOVES to expand pharmacists' scope of practice to include prescribing roles shows a failure by politicians to understand "the health ecosystem", pharmacist-turned-GP, Dr Peter Cheng, believes.
In a letter to the Sydney Morning Herald, responding to former Commonwealth Deputy Chief Health Officer, Dr Nick Coatsworth's support for pharmacist prescribing trials (PD 25 Nov), Cheng urged politicians to retain the status quo.
"As a former pharmacist and now a working GP, the oversimplification of the health ecosystem by our politicians never fails to astound me," he said.
"Their misunderstanding of the respective roles of all healthcare practitioners to form a well functioning, multidisciplinary team and their attempt to further fragment the already fractured medical system is dangerous and ethically very concerning.
"What I knew as a pharmacist of clinical medicine in a total of five years of tertiary education was the equivalent of learning a semester of clinical medicine in medical school.
"Yes, our roles intersect, but the roles are drastically different.
"The training is completely different.
"The mentality is entirely different.
"The whole separation of the medical and pharmacy system was to ensure that the public is protected, both from the potential errors in diagnosis and prescribing without the last line of defence.
"The entire medical code is based upon this fundamental fact.
"We are hearing from politicians, with zero clinical experience, taking action to blur this boundary.
"They say access is a problem -- but creating more 'noctors' [not doctors, in GP speak] -- is not the solution."
Cheng argued that with more registered doctors in Australia than pharmacists, authorising medical professionals to dispense medications would be more effective in improving access to healthcare services.
"If each doctor had their own respective dispensary, and was able to provide efficient, adequate and safe access to medicines, this would efficiently save the taxpayer costs on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme," he said.
"And it would not cost the Medicare Benefits Schedule any more than it currently does.
"As the Seventh Community Pharmacy Agreement is ending in 2025, perhaps politicians should rather focus on improving the entire health economy, rather than lining the pockets of their corporate donors.
"As professional groups, we each have vital roles in healthcare.
"But we need to stick to our own lanes to ensure ethical care for patients."
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