Editorial

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Welcome to the May 2012 homepage edition of i2P-Information to Pharmacists. Rollo Manning has been having some time out having staples removed from the site of his open heart surgery.He is now at home recuperating in Darwin, having arrived home last Friday, beating a cold and hasty retreat from Canberra.We all wish him a speedy recovery and hopefully, he will be fit enough to contribute by next month.
This month, Pharmedia discusses the toll that is taken when someone complains about you to an authority without good cause. Well, the good news is that you can now take action to protect yourself if such a complaint is made, and that may even include action for defamation. Read about a recent case involving two doctors, with Mark Coleman drawing on personal experience to illustrate.

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Pharmacist Prescribing

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	Staff Writer articles by this author...
Editing and Researching news and stories about global and local Pharmacy Issues

The fifth meeting of the Pharmacy Board of Australia was held recently on the 26th February 2010. The Board is established under the Health Practitioner Regulation (Administrative Arrangements) National Law Act 2008.
As in previous meetings, the Board focused on the matters it had to resolve before the commencement of the national registration and accreditation scheme on 1 July 2010.
One matter discussed that is topical for pharmacy, was the matter of non-medical prescribing.

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The Board agreed that the Chair should meet with the Chairs of the Nursing and Midwifery, Optometrist and Podiatrist Boards to discuss membership and terms of reference for an advisory group to consider non-medical prescribing.

The Board has decided not to proceed with endorsement of registration of pharmacists to prescribe prior to the commencement of the national scheme but will further consider this issue in due course.

It was considered that more work needed to occur to determine the actual nature of pharmacist prescribing powers before any process of implementation could occur.

One issue under consideration is the potential for conflict of interest where a pharmacist may diagnose, prescribe and supply without appropriate checks and balances.

Another issue related to harmonisation of drug schedules, particularly in cross-border situations where it might be legal to sell one particular drug in one jurisdiction, but not over the border in another state that may only be a walking distance away.
It is not likely that pharmacists will receive prescribing rights in the immediate future because education and training would have to be incorporated into pharmacist registration requirements. However, it will certainly be an ongoing discussion that will be revisited frequently.

Interestingly, what is developed for pharmacy and other allied health practitioners will probably apply to medical practitioners as they will be dealing with the same regulating agency - Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency, through their own Board.

The National Registration and Accreditation Scheme for the Health Professions consists of a Ministerial Council, an independent Australian Health Workforce Advisory Council, a national agency with an Agency Management Committee, national profession-specific boards, committees of the boards, a national office to support the operations of the scheme, and at least one local presence in each State and Territory.

On 5 March 2009 the Ministerial Council appointed an Agency Management Committee, headed by Mr Peter Allen, to govern the national agency. The Agency Management Committee held its first meeting on 23 April 2009.

The Ministerial Council appointed the members of the ten national boards on 31 August 2009. The national boards had their first meeting on 20 September 2009.

It will be difficult for doctors to argue for ownership of pharmacies, given the comments issued above by the Pharmacy Board of Australia.
Likewise, for existing pharmacy owners.

It seems that a clear legislative distinction is required to define a practitioner pharmacist and a pharmacy owner.

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