Today’s commencement of the Victorian community pharmacist prescribing pilot is an important step towards increasing access to primary health care for all Victorians, especially women, the Pharmacy Guild of Australia, Victoria Branch has said.
“From today, patients will be able to access safe and timely treatment for everyday conditions and basic health care needs from appropriately trained community pharmacists,” said Pharmacy Guild of Australia, Victoria Branch Committee Member, Megan Kazantzis.
Under prescribing protocols set by the Victorian Government, starting today, participating community pharmacists can provide healthcare consultations for: prescribing antibiotics for women experiencing an uncomplicated urinary tract infection (UTI), and repeat supply of oral contraceptives.
“Including uncomplicated UTIs and reissuing repeat prescriptions of oral contraceptives in the pilot, in particular, ensures women have access to the routine healthcare services they need, when and where they need them,” said Ms Kazantzis.
“This pilot provides another care option for women who may otherwise be faced with attempting to make an appointment at already overstretched GPs or waiting unnecessarily in busy emergency departments for common conditions that can be safely treated by highly qualified community pharmacists,” Ms Kazantzis said.
The Victorian community pharmacist prescribing pilot will later expand to also include the treatment of select minor skin conditions. Pharmacist immunisers participating in the pilot will also soon be able to administer select travel vaccines following the completion of additional training.
There will be no charge for patients to see a participating community pharmacist to receive care under the pilot. If medications are required, the cost to the patient would be no more than if they had received prescription from a GP.
To participate in the Victorian community pharmacy prescribing pilot, community pharmacists are required to meet certain criteria, including having a consulting room at the pharmacy, completing mandatory training for each of the piloted services they will be providing, and following clear structured protocols and guidelines for determining which patients are eligible, who should be referred to another health professional and which treatments are appropriate.
“The pilot framework ensures collaboration between a patient, their pharmacist and GP through active communication and referrals, meaning patients will have more options for getting timely access to treatment,” said Ms Kazantzis.
“Community pharmacists already play a vital role in ensuring accessible healthcare to millions of patients in local communities across Victoria and have become integral primary health care providers.
“Through the extensive network of highly trained community pharmacists, we are already working with the community to ensure patients are well-informed on the safe and correct use of their medicines and ensuring their healthcare needs are being met.”
“The community pharmacist prescribing pilot is a practical step that will allow community pharmacists to further use their clinical expertise to provide patients with safe, timely and quality care for everyday health conditions.
“The community pharmacist prescribing pilot is a win for patients who can now access safe quality healthcare from participating pharmacists when and where they need it. It’s also a practical step to relieve pressure on our overstretched healthcare system.”
“With the role of pharmacies expanding, we look forward to working closely with other healthcare professionals and the Victorian government to support new and better ways to find and respond to patients’ health needs,” said Ms Kazantzis.
Ms Kazantzis said the Victorian pharmacist prescribing pilot is part of a wider move for pharmacists to practice towards their full scope of practice in other Australian states and territories. In Queensland a successful community pharmacy prescribing pilot for uncomplicated UTIs is now a permanent program in that state and a further state-wide pilot has been announced for a wider range of vaccinations and health conditions, while in New South Wales a community pharmacy UTI treatment and oral contraceptive pill resupply trial is currently underway.
Following the 12-month Victorian community pharmacy prescribing pilot, an evaluation will take place with recommendations informing future scope of practice for community pharmacists in Victoria.
