Pharmacy Daily | Prescribing trials threaten healthcare

STATE Governments are being urged to reconsider planned pharmacist prescribing trials, with the Australian Medical Association (AMA) warning they will create a two-tier health system.

AMA President, Professor Stephen Robson, said the trials in NSW, Queensland and Victoria present a risk to patient safety and "ignored ethical concerns".

"Responding to GP shortages with second-class policy solutions that trample over the advice of independent bodies like the Pharmacy Board of Australia and the Therapeutic Goods Administration, and bypass established national processes that exist to protect patient safety isn't the answer," he said.

"GPs train for 12 to 15 years to have the expertise to diagnose conditions that are being covered in some of these trials.

"You can't replace that training and experience with a few hours of weekly online training without putting patients at risk.

"General practitioners are highly skilled and equipped to diagnose the difference between a urinary tract infection and other serious and potentially deadly health conditions.

"They are equipped to take a full medical history of their patients and understand the full range of contraceptive options available to women.

"A second-tier health system that moves the costs of health services from the government to the patient (except for Victoria which is proposing to cover some of the costs) isn't the solution.

"The AMA wants to work with pharmacists to develop models where we can contribute more to the delivery of health care in safe and collaborative ways.

"Unfortunately, these models being pushed do the opposite.

"They fragment care and lead to negative health outcomes, as we have seen in Queensland."

Robson reiterated claims that prescribing trials would increase the threat of antimicrobial resistance made by the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (PD 18 Nov).