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
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Volume 1 Number 4
Volume 1 Number 5
Volume 1 Number 6
Volume 1 Number 7
Volume 2 Number 1
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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
Peter Sayers: Confessions of a Frustrated PharmacistEPublications
For some pharmacists the truth will be ‘inconvenient’. WHY is it so??
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James Ellerson is passionate about developing primary health care services across the spectrum of all health care practitioners working in a practical alliance, whether in an urbanised or a remote setting. | |
Sir Winston Churchill said “Truth is incontrovertible, malice may attack it and ignorance may deride it, but, in the end, there it is.” At the PAC 2009 Conference John Menadue’s forthright messages made it abundantly clear that the sun was shining very brightly indeed.
Elvis Presley said “Truth is like the sun. You can shut it out for a time, but it ain't goin' away.”
Here are the ‘message sticks’ that resonated with me:
respected pharmacy professionals are concerned about the unwillingness of the profession to change
preventative healthcare beckons pharmacists
pharmacists need to be better integrated as key participants in inter-disciplinary teams
dispensing medications and running gift shops is mind numbing
it is difficult to introduce modern workforce practices into an old and established system
the PGA is opposed to pharmacists working as consultant pharmacists in GP super clinics
innovation and development in pharmacy practice is restricted by the drug-distribution supply chain model which revolves around banner-group performance
if pharmacy doesn’t change its current structure it will be disadvantaged in future healthcare models.
Few would dispute the fact that pharmacists are the most over-qualified and under-utilised professionals. So what can be done to put us to better use? Make no mistake; the business model is changing. Mail Order Internet pharmacies will expand rapidly underpinned by robotic dispensing. Many bricks and mortar pharmacies will close in line with a shift in demand for the way professional pharmacy services are delivered to the consumer. Only the big chains like Terry White will survive and expand as smaller more vulnerable pharmacies withdraw from the marketplace.
Professional pharmacists will be left behind unless we move now to be included in the new health models focused on patient-centred healthcare, collaborative inter-disciplinary teamwork, patient education and training, chronic disease management and preventative healthcare.
Reform is afoot and the most effective way to speed up the reform process is to reduce the false comfort which the high barriers of protection have given to the pharmacy owners in years gone by. How much longer will such protection be permitted to prevail? As John Menadue said “If you (we) want to have a seat at the table when protection is being reduced you (we) must accept the need to change”.
Once reform takes hold our world will change quite quickly. The mind numbing repetitive pill popping of the community pharmacy sausage machine existence we know today will be gone forever. We must get ready for the ride which will be fast, exciting, and above all professionally fulfilling. If we position now we can be certain our professional status will grow, we will be able to stand shoulder to shoulder with our medical colleagues sharing the burden of health service provision whilst enjoying more satisfying involvement with patients and allied health personnel. But we must not dally. We must act now; before it is too late.
Every professional pharmacist needs to be asking, in all honesty, where we will find that effective voice which can be relied upon to best represent our professional interests and ensure we are able to participate in the reform process to the maximum. So - who should represent us as professionals? The PGA? The PSA? Both?
The PGA represents the owners and most of us do not own pharmacies. So, with change fast bearing down upon us, should we trust our professional future and those of the young graduates about to enter the workforce to an organisation riddled with conflicts and vested interests which spends most of its time battling with government on behalf of its members - the owners? Logic dictates the time has now come for the PSA to take the lead to represent the interests of all professional pharmacists independent of the owners’ representative.
The PSA is our peak national body. It should be free to negotiate and act on behalf of all professional (employee) pharmacists without fear or favour; unfettered by the PGA. Only when the shackles and chains have been cast off once and for all will the enormous professional talents within pharmacy become truly accessible and fully utilised to the maximum benefit of everyone.
It is time; time to change and time to grow. If we do nothing now ‘tis at our peril.
As Harry S. Truman said “I never give them hell. I just tell the truth and they think it’s hell”. So too, John Menadue AO.
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.
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