FUNDING community pharmacists to provide in-reach services to aged care facilities could help tackle a growing gap in the uptake of preventative health measures including immunisations, consultant pharmacist, Karalyn Huxhagen, believes.
After record numbers of patients received influenza shots in 2020, Huxhagen told Pharmacy Daily she had seen a drop off in immunisation status for influenza and other vaccine-preventable diseases in aged care centres, when she was conducting Residential Medication Management Reviews.
"Immunisation is a preventative health measure that requires continual intervention," she said.
"Lapses in care will lead to outbreaks.
"Aged care vaccination services need to be expanded to pharmacist administration of annual influenza vaccination.
"As we have seen in the community, many aged care residents have missed their annual influenza vaccination as the priority has been to have the COVID-19 vaccinations fully implemented.
"When I have queried the facilities as to why this is occurring the main replies are that 'GPs are overloaded with work at their clinics and are unable to attend to perform immunisation roles', and 'GPs are only providing telehealth services to aged care services due to workload and COVID-19 issues'.
"GPs providing services to aged care facilities are incredibly hard working but they are overstretched and we can assist."
Responding to reports that GPs are set to receive $1,000 payments for administering 50 aged and/or disability care workers through in-reach programs (PD 10 Aug), Huxhagen said there was a need for harmonisation of State and Territory regulations to enable pharmacists to be paid to administer vaccinations through the National Immunisation Program (NIP) and allow them to provide vaccines outside of Section 90 approved pharmacies.
Huxhagen added that the gaps in uptake of preventative health measures were not exclusive to aged care, noting "things like children's immunisation schedules are getting out of whack".
"Because so many practices are doing telehealth only, that opportunistic coming in and getting caught up with your kid's immunisations is starting to fall behind," she said.
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