STATE and Territory Governments need to break down barriers preventing pharmacists from working at their full scope during the COVID-19 pandemic, and beyond, Pharmacy Guild of Australia National Vice President, Trent Twomey, believes.
Speaking at the Australian Pharmacy Professional (APP) Conference online earlier this month, Twomey said rules forbidding pharmacists from providing key health services within their competencies needed to be removed.
Twomey said that ever since the formation of the Pharmacy Board of Australia over a decade ago, conversations with State and Territory leaders "about anything other than the Business Ownership Rules" had been stymied.
"We need to continue and reboot the conversations we are having with State and Territory Governments [and tell them] that community pharmacy is underutilised," he said.
"There is no clinical reason that pharmacists shouldn't be able to vaccinate all people for all conditions," he said.
"But there are silly pieces of red tape that say we can only of this vaccination for this person in this age group.
"And it's the same for prescribing - it's nonsensical that in times like this, where you have a global health pandemic, that States and Territories aren't knocking down the doors of pharmacies saying, 'We need you to do more, how can you help?'"
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