Editorial
Welcome to the first homepage edition of i2P for 2012.
In many ways it has been a slow start to the New Year because of having to deal with the “leftovers” from 2011.
One of those items for i2P was that a third-party provider to the site did not advise of a code change to the security section in our subscribe panel, creating a range of frustrated subscribers not able to get on board.
We apologise to all those potential subscribers who were unable to register with us in the second half of 2011, but if you try once more you should have no problem.
Columns
Rollo Manning: Pharma-Goss
Linda Bryant: Inside NZ
Loretta Marron BSc: Health Watch
Barry Urquhart: Marketing Focus
Mark Neuenschwander: I`ve been thinking about...Recent Comments
Past Editions
Volume 1 Number 1
Volume 1 Number 2
Volume 1 Number 3
Volume 1 Number 4
Volume 1 Number 5
Volume 1 Number 6
Volume 1 Number 7
Volume 2 Number 1
Volume 2 Number 2
Volume 2 Number 3
Volume 2 Number 4
Volume 2 Number 5
Volume 2 Number 6
Volume 2 Number 7
Volume 2 Number 8
Volume 2 Number 9
Volume 2 Number 10
Volume 2 Number 11
Volume 3 Number 1
Volume 3 Number 2
Volume 3 Number 3
Volume 3 Number 4
Volume 3 Number 5
Volume 3 Number 6
Volume 3 Number 7
Volume 3 Number 8
Volume 3 Number 9
Volume 3 Number 10
Volume 3 Number 11
Volume 2012 Number 1
Health Politics
Neil Johnston: Friends of Science in Medicine
James Ellerson: $75.5 million in 5CPA lying idle. Why is it so?EPublications
The Other Side of the Counter
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Peter Sayers is vitally concerned about pharmacy professional practice - its innovation, its research and development, and its delivery to create an ongoing revenue stream. Delivery of healthcare is increasingly involved with Information Technology systems. All perspectives in IT must be considered for the impact on pharmacy practice and its viability. | |
Consumers of pharmacy services are becoming more vocal in specifying the type and quality of service they require.
And they are making their demands felt, both individually and collectively.
Earlier this month we saw the community of Colac in Victoria rise up against a repressive business model that was being delivered – poor prescription service and poor prices.
Now we are seeing the Consumer Health Forum organisation raising concerns in a discussion paper just released, about the uneven delivery of services under the Fourth Community Pharmacy Agreement (4CPA) and they are asking for greater accountability under the 5CPA.
Examples were provided:
* Uneven provision of consumer medication information (CMI).
* Lack of face-to-face counseling.
* Lack of routine provision of Home Medicines Reviews (HMR’s)
Also they hold a very strong view that a system for the accountability of community pharmacies for all services covered by the 5CPA should come into existence.
“This would mean a robust auditing process to ensure that the services pharmacies are being paid to deliver are actually being delivered”, said the CHF.
”The Pharmacy Guild of Australia’s audit and evaluation processes were not sufficient as the Guild had a “vested interest” in the outcomes and the results were not widely available.”
The Consumers Health Forum of Australia (CHF) is the national peak body representing the interests of Australian healthcare consumers. It is an independent, non-government organisation that provides a voice for, Australia's health consumers by representing their issues to Government and policy makers, as well as advocating for health consumer interests in the media and other public forums.
CHF aims to provide appropriate commentary and background information on most matters relating to health consumer issues across many complex areas of the Australian health system.
Areas of particular current focus include; broad health reform; Medicare and health funding; dental health, medicines policy; chronic conditions; pathology, health technology (eHealth), prevention, primary healthcare, health literacy and many more.
The CHF believes that the Pharmacy Guild of Australia (PGA) is spending research and development monies received from government inappropriately and would prefer to see a more responsible disbursement.
The recent exposure of the PGA diverting money for clinical development into eRx software systems is a classic example.
Apart from the audit process the CHF proposes an independent national consumer complaints mechanism.
The CHF has developed the argument that the 5CPA should not be simply an agreement between the Guild and the Government. It claims other stakeholders central to the delivery of pharmacy services should be involved, particularly other pharmacy groups and health consumers.
Other pharmacy groups presumably means the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia and the PDA (pharmacist trade union).
This would break the exclusive domain of the Guild, which represents only the interests of pharmacy owners, as the main negotiator and signatory to the CPA.
The CHF questions the appropriateness of the Guild signing an agreement that includes delivery of professional programs when many of these programs would be delivered by employed pharmacists, not the pharmacy owners represented by the Guild.
It is interesting that a distinction is made between pharmacists and pharmacies – a point that has been amplified many times by various i2P writers expressing similar thoughts when commenting on professional services development.
The fact that the PGA has chosen an unbalanced pharmacy business model that ignores clinical pharmacists and only concentrates on supply is the main reason consumers are looking for accountability, because they can see they are missing out on access to the highly trained pharmacist asset that is being squandered by pharmacy owners and managers.
The current supply model needs to be abandoned before even more damage is inflicted on the image of pharmacy, virtually inviting consumer intervention at all levels of the profession.
The CHF also reflects that the 5CPA would contain quality standards for dispensing which would need to be met as a prerequisite to expansion of the pharmacist’s role into broader primary care, such as asthma and diabetes care.
The CHF advocates a broader perspective for the CPA in future Agreements because they wished to see pharmacies and pharmacists positioned to be genuine players in an integrated primary health care system delivering professional services to consumers.
The winds of change are now blowing down the corridors of all health systems.
Perhaps now is the time to promote the idea of a peak pharmacy organisation that represents all pharmacy interest groups to be the negotiator and signatory to all future Community Pharmacy Agreements.
The PGA is simply not representative of the entire pharmacy profession.
Return to homeResearch Reports
Dr Andrew Byrne & Associates: Tranquillizer use rife amongst OTP subjects world-wide, most legally prescribedPractice Development
Neil Retallick: Are the discounters impacting community pharmacy beyond margin erosion? | open full screen
Kay Dunkley - BPharm, Grad Dip Hosp Pharm, Grad Dip Health Admin, MPS, MSHPA: Support services for pharmacists and doctors in the United Kingdom – Part 3 Royal Medical Benevolent Fund | open full screen
Staff Writer: Catch the early wave in 2012 and secure your valuable CPD Credits at the Guild Pharmacy Academy – NSW Convention | open full screen
Information Technology
Dr David More: Australian Health Information Technology LinksIndigenous Health
Preventive Medicine
Gerald Quigley: It’s Time!If any difficulty is found in subscribing, please use the "Contact Us" panel found in the navigation bar with the message "subscribe" and your email address.
Submitted by Robert Fennell on Wed, 21/04/2010 - 18:37.
As a retired pharmacist, formerly engaged in locum work followed by
ownership then a certain degree of pharmacist education I fully agree
with the viewpoint expressed in the article.
In the past 5 years I have never received a CMI for the range of
medication dispensed for myself or my wife. The medications concerned
definitely require CMRs and counselling as their is a of medication for
which counselling is recommended. The pharmacists were not aware that I
am a retired. pharmacist.
HMRs are definitely non-existent (but not expected) and face to face
counselling limited to
a) one example of a change in brand
b) a query as to whether I was allergic to penicillin on being
prescribed norfloxacin
c) last week when purchasing my usual supply of Cartia (not at my
usual pharmacy) I was asked by a shop assistant whether I had had them
before and whether I had any problems. This was a major event for me.
During this period there was an occurrence of of potentially disastrous
dispensing error which could have readily been rectified if only the
pharmacist had spoken to me and read the label.
Last year I had a lengthy email discussion with the Guild President who
is of the view that everything regarding the profession is wonderful.
I also wrote to PSA and when my letter was published the only letter in
reply claimed I was too negative and should spend my time promoting the
profession.
Originally from Victoria and now residing in Queensland I have found
that although the professional service provided by Victorian is far from
ideal the standard worsens with progression through NSW and further
north.
Robert Fennell
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