PHARMACIST remuneration remains tied to an outdated system that fails to recognise the significant changes in the role community pharmacists play in delivering healthcare, the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia (PSA) believes.
Launching the PSA's contemporary community pharmacy practice white paper, the organisation's incoming National President, Dr Fei Sim, called for an improvement in the sector's pay structure.
"This white paper adds to existing discussions, including PSA's call to improve pharmacist remuneration," she said.
"It seeks to recognise, restructure, and remunerate the contribution of community pharmacists within the Australian health system and is intended to set the direction for the next five years and drive community pharmacy toward a sustainable and effective practice model."
Sim, who is also Chair of the PSA's Contemporary Community Pharmacy Practice - Community of Speciality Interest Group, said the paper aimed to identify, debate and articulate the opportunities and challenges facing the sector.
"This white paper will set the direction for the next five years and drive community pharmacist practice toward a sustainable and effective practice model," she said.
"We have seen significant shifts in the roles of community pharmacists in the last few years, and there's no doubt they will continue to change.
"It is important that we look at what is working and where we can improve.
"The COVID-19 pandemic and increasingly frequent natural disasters have highlighted the critical role community pharmacists play in primary health care.
"Community pharmacists and general practitioners together can strengthen our primary health care system, alleviating the pressure on our emergency departments and hospitals.
"Every contact a patient has with a pharmacist is an opportunity to impart a health message, deliver primary health care, and improve the health of the community.
"However, as pharmacists adapt to increasing community needs, the remuneration of community pharmacists has continued to lag, pegged to an outdated supply model.
"This continues to put excessive pressure on the workforce.
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