Political
Health Australia’s ‘first priority issues for 2023’
Reform of Australia’s primary care system will be the nation’s top priority over the next 12 months, following Friday’s National Cabinet meeting. Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese, said the Strengthening …
Medicare Taskforce wants barriers to full scope removed
Barriers preventing primary care health professionals, including pharmacists, from working to their full scope need to be removed, the Strengthening Medicare Taskforce believes. The Strengthening Medicare Taskforce Report released …
Pharmacist prescribing about patients, not turf: Guild
Calls for pharmacists to be authorised to prescribe treatments for a limited number of conditions is about meeting patient needs, not an interprofessional rivalry. Moves towards pharmacist prescribing reflect …
Turf war heats up ahead of National Cabinet meeting
Tensions between the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) and the pharmacy sector are rising over calls to expand pharmacists’ scope of practice. With NSW Premier, Dominic Perrottet, …
Labor gains lion’s share of Guild donations
New data on political donations released by the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) show the Pharmacy Guild of Australia shifted its support to Labor in 2021/22. In the lead-up to …
National Pharmacies’ staff set to vote on protected action
Professional Pharmacists Australia (PPA) will hold a protected action ballot of National Pharmacies employees after the Fair Work Commission (FWC) approved the move. Authorising the action, FWC Deputy President, …
British pharmacist prescribers dismiss Aussie GP’s jibe
Victorian GP, Dr Shiraz Mahkri’s claims that pharmacist prescribing in Australia will create a two-tier health system are being rubbished by British pharmacists. The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners …
Recognise pharmacists as prescribers: Petition
Pharmacy bodies are being urged to unite behind a petition calling on the House of Representatives to extend Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) provider numbers to pharmacists. Melbourne-based pharmacist, Pardeep …
Guild shifts election cycle
Changes to the Pharmacy Guild of Australia’s constitution were made late last year and will extend the organisation’s election cycle to four years. The amendments lodged with the Fair Work …
Technology lagging on pharmacists’ needs
Gaps in the development of health information communication technology (ICT) may hinder the “inevitable” implementation of pharmacist prescribing, researchers warn. A review of 20 existing health ICT evaluation frameworks, …
COVID-19 a gift pharmacy must not waste
Pharmacists are being urged not to waste the opportunities created by the COVID-19 pandemic. Addressing the International Pharmaceutical Federation’s (FIP’s) Enabling life-course immunisation through pharmacy-based vaccination: Regulations and prescribing …
Pharmacist vaccination gives evidence to back prescribing role
Successful community pharmacy-based vaccination programs should be used as evidence of pharmacists’ competencies to prescribe Schedule 4 medications, Pharmaceutical Society of Australia (PSA) National President, Dr Fei Sim, believes. Addressing …