WITH the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) set to review calls to down-schedule asthma preventer medication, budesonide, to Pharmacist-Only later this month, opposition is growing.
The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) has hit out at suggestions that the scheduling change was needed to improve access to effective treatment patients with asthma, living in regional, rural, remote and very remote locations, and reduce their reliance on salbutamol.
The proposal suggests that budesonide should be moved to Schedule 3 when it is provided in single-ingredient inhalers for the maintenance treatment of asthma in people aged 12 years and older, where the maximum daily dose does not exceed 800 micrograms.
The unnamed organisation behind the push to down-schedule the medication noted that the pharmacy network is well distributed across Australia, including in areas "underserviced by other healthcare professionals".
It added that "pharmacists are highly trained healthcare professionals that could provide a greater contribution to the management of asthma for all patients".
However, in a submission to the TGA the RACGP said the move could be harmful for patients "given that pharmacists are not clinically trained to diagnose and treat asthma and there is potential for misdiagnosis that can risk patient safety".
Speaking with Australian Doctor, RACGP Expert Committee - Quality Care Chair, Professor Mark Morgan, said patients should be directed to their GP for treatment, rather than having a pharmacist provide the medicine over-the-counter (OTC).
"I'd actually go the other way and say, if patients are purchasing OTC salbutamol, it's important that questions are asked around control, use and safety of that decision and that patients are encouraged to see their GP," he said.
"We need to be able to physically examine the lungs, work with spirometry and look at the patient's other medical conditions and lifestyle - all of that requires a comprehensive and long-term approach to care."
Morgan added that issues around access to GP services in rural areas was a myth in the age of telehealth.
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