Pharmacy Daily | PSA pilots ethics advice

THE Pharmaceutical Society of Australia has launched a new Ethics Advisory Service which provides information and advice to PSA members, as well as acting on complaints from members. The service, which is free of charge for PSA members, is claimed to be a first for pharmacy. It’s based on the PSA’s Code of Ethics for Pharmacists which focuses on five key areas: the consumer, the community, the pharmacy profession, business practices and other healthcare professionals. “The core focus of the new Ethics Advisory Service is to provide help and support for pharmacists struggling with ethical dilemmas and issues in their professional practice,” said PSA National President, Grant Kardachi. He said the Code of Ethics had been endorsed by the Pharmacy Board of Australia, with the service to be piloted for an initial 18 month period. “PSA has engaged in high-level discussions with a number of key stakeholders all of whom have agreed that the Ethics Advisory Service will be of benefit to the profession and be widely welcomed,” Kardachi said. He emphasised that the new service would operate alongside (and in no way seeks to replace) existing services provided by other key organisations such as the Pharmacy Board of Australia, Pharmaceutical Defence Limited and the Pharmacists’ Support Service. A new Ethics Advisory Panel will be established, comprising a group of experts who will offer advice and assistance in response to enquiries which may vary from “pharmacists in a difficult work environment to pharmacists facing an ethical dilemma situation”. The service can be accessed by PSA members at www.psa.org.au.

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