PHARMACY Guild of Australia executive director David Quilty has called for a moderation of language around pharmacists "expanding" their services, or "enhancing" their scope of practice.
Writing in his regular Forefront editorial yesterday, Quilty argued that terminology that suggests intrusion into another health practitioner's area of expertise is inflammatory.
"Maybe this inter-professional friction could be avoided by some more accurate messaging: pharmacists want to perform to their "full" scope of practice -- maximising the benefits for patients by using their expertise in medicines which is already acknowledged by regulatory authorities, albeit with some variations across States and Territories," Quilty said.
"This notion is supported by a recent article in the Canadian Pharmacists Journal which called on the profession to realign the use of terms such as 'expanded scope of practice' in advocating for a greater role for pharmacists in health care."
The article supports the use of the term "full scope of practice" to ensure pharmacists can fully utilise their skills and knowledge, without trespassing on other practitioners' hallowed ground.
Quilty concluded that "the greater utilisation of pharmacists will greatly benefit patients; will be within existing limits of pharmacists' expertise; regulated by a national practice board; is already in place in many comparable countries; will always be conducted collaboratively with doctors and other health professionals; will save money in the health system; and relieve some of the stress on GP surgeries and emergency departments."
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