The Fifth Community Pharmacy Agreement
June 22, 2010
THE first of July 2010 is shaping up
as an especially significant date in the
modern history of pharmacy in Australia.
It is, of course, the starting date for
the Fifth Community Pharmacy
Agreement, and it’s also a key date in
the transition to the Pharmacy
Industry Award 2010.
But it is also the date of introduction
of the new national registration scheme.
In that regard there have been some
quite significant decisions taken at
what you might call the eleventh hour.
Notable among these was the
decision of the Pharmacy Board of
Australia to broaden its definition of
‘practising pharmacist’ to this:
Practice means any role, whether
remunerated or not, in which the
individual uses their skills and knowledge
as a pharmacist in their profession.
For the purposes of this registration
standard, practice is not restricted
to the provision of direct clinical care. It
also includes working in a direct
nonclinical relationship with clients;
working in management, administration,
education, research, advisory, regulatory
or policy development roles; and any
other roles that impact on safe, effective
delivery of services in the profession and/
or use their professional skills.
The upshot of this – as reported in
Pharmacy Daily last week – is that a
pharmacist who owns a pharmacy is,
prima facie, practising pharmacy.
Consequently, from 1 July 2010,
proprietor pharmacists will be
required to maintain general
registration - and meet registration
standards including the requirements
for professional indemnity insurance,
recency of practice and
continuing professional development.
This provides the industry with
clarity – but it also imposes
obligations which must be met.
The Pharmacy Board of Australia
has recently advised of a new email
address for registration queries:
enquiries@pharmacyboard.gov.au.
Guild Members may have received
a letter from the Australian Health
Practitioners Regulating Authority
(AHPRA) regarding new registration
details in the national scheme.
If you have questions in relation to
the contents of the letter, or you have
not received it, please ring the
AHPRA Registration Helpline on
1300 088 590.
Additionally, seethe PBA
website www.pharmacyboard.gov.au
for information and fact sheets.
The above article was sent to subscribers in Pharmacy Daily's issue from 22 Jun 10To see the full newsletter, see the embedded issue below or CLICK HERE to download Pharmacy Daily from 22 Jun 10
