Tasmanian pharmacists to treat more conditions with expanded scope of practice
From next year, Tasmanians will be able to head to their local pharmacists for more conditions, in a move the state government hopes will take pressure off GPs and hospitals.
$5 million from next week's state budget will be set aside to offer pharmacists training in treating conditions such as ear infections, reflux, skin conditions like shingles and eczema, rhinitis and wound care.
The funding will also support a new pilot project partnering pharmacists with GPs to prescribe medications in residential aged care.
But expanding the scope of practice for pharmacists has been met with backlash from the doctor sector — as happened when the Northern Territory and Queensland adopted the program.
Mental Health and Wellbeing Minister Roger Jaensch said pharmacists were currently an "under-utilised resource" and subsidised training of between 12 and 18 months would allow pharmacists "full scope of practice credentials".
"Our pharmacists are trusted frontline health professionals and medication experts in our communities," Mr Jaensch said.
The extra training builds upon an existing program which expanded credentials for some Tasmanian pharmacists last year.
In an Australian first, those pharmacists became able to treat uncomplicated Urinary Tract Infections (UTIs) and administer the oral contraceptive pill for an extra 12 months when a prescription expires.
Mr Jaensch said the government would learn from other states and "work towards national harmonisations of a wider range of treatments that our pharmacies can deliver".
"Those that are ahead of us now are reviewing their progress; we'll learn from their progress," Mr Jaensch said.
Launceston pharmacist Jason Martin said customers presented "daily" with conditions which he and other pharmacists would be able to treat if they had full-scope credentials.
"With immunisations as an example … and during COVID-19 too, we've shown we've had capacity to grow and to take on additional healthcare services and meet the healthcare demand," Mr Martin said.
Mr Martin, who is also a Pharmacy Guild member, believed the opportunity to upskill would also boost workforce retention for pharmacists.
Expanding the scope of practice, he said, would hopefully entice graduates to stay in Tasmania, rather than move to states where such opportunities were already in place or becoming available.
Tasmania's Pharmaceutical Society of Australia also welcomed the training, with state manager Ella Van Tienen saying the sector was "able and willing to do more".
"We believe for a range of conditions we need a 'no wrong door' policy so that consumers are able to access healthcare in the environment they choose to do in a timely and accessible manner," Ms Van Tienen said.
Tasmania's Australian Medical Association said the pilot "misses the mark and worse, puts patient care at risk".
President Michael Lumsden-Steel said while pharmacists were an "important part of the patient care team", they "are not doctors".
Dr Lumsden-Steele said many medical conditions shared similar symptoms, and that this pilot would result in "further care fragmentation".
"It takes years of study and experience to ascertain the difference between acid reflux and gallstones.
Dr Lumsden-Steel said a better use of funds would be opening more training positions in general practice and increasing Medicare rebates for longer consultations.
Professional Pharmacists Australia said they welcomed the funding, but said it must come alongside additional support for "already overstretched" pharmacists to help manage the additional workload and responsibilities.
"The scope of pharmacy practice is changing, but so too must the pay, protections, and professional standards that underpin it."
Mr Jaensch said renumeration for pharmacists working in community pharmacies "remains the responsibility of their employer".
He said he acknowledged the comments of the AMA, but that the measure had been taken "so we can relieve pressure on our GPs and hospitals".
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