Even pharmacists should put patient safety first, said the college president.
Pharmacy groups have collaborated on a joint push to expand prescribing rights which has been met with concern from the RACGP.
The Joint Pharmacy Organisations – Advanced Pharmacy Australia, the Pharmacy Guild of Australia, and the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia – have put a submission to the Pharmacy Board of Australia seeking a widened scope for pharmacists as “endorsed pharmacist prescribers” as part of a national approach.
New additions would include patient access to PBS subsidies for medicines prescribed by pharmacists.
The proposed scheme has been described as an “autonomous prescribing” initiative that would be “delivered in appropriate collaborative relationships with the patient and all other members of the healthcare team”.
Another significant change would be enabling qualified pharmacists to “administer, obtain, possess, prescribe, sell, supply or use Schedule 2, 3, 4, and 8 medicines after completing an approved course”.
The RACGP has criticised the initiative, saying it could further fragment care and pose a significant risk to patients, with president Dr Michael Wright meeting with the Pharmacy Board last week.
“I was concerned to see a lack of understanding – or at least an appreciation – of those risks at the roundtable,” Dr Wright told ARR.
“Conflict of interest needs to have much more discussion, and it was really only mentioned in passing.
“It seemed pretty much all decided, focused on the ‘how-do-we-do-this’, when really the first question for me was more about, ‘why or should we do this’.”
Accessibility to prescriptions has been pushed as the primary benefit for patients through the scheme, along with reducing pressure on GP workloads.
“Current consultation costs in Queensland for patients receiving care in community pharmacy are significantly lower than most consultation costs in general practice, and a report by EY Australia in 2024 showed significant productivity gains for the broader economy through improved access to health care for workers,” the JPO said in its submission.
Reported dissatisfaction in wait times for both GPs and nurses was also cited in the submission as a core reason for why non-medical prescribers have “become increasingly important for ensuring access to quality care due to improved recognition of their scope of practice”.
Consultation costs have also been cited, with the board stating that pharmacist consultations are “already significantly lower than most consultation costs in general practice, with only 56% of GP patients bulk billed in 2024 and an average out-of-pocket cost of $45”.
“High rates of error from standard medical prescribing in hospitals” was also listed as a key issue that the initiative would address.
“Schedule 8 medicines are serious,” Dr Wright told ARR.
“These are controlled drugs for good reasons – GPs always consider misuse and dependence when prescribing them, and reducing that risk is among the clearest arguments for policies and regulations that support both safe prescribing by medical professionals, and continuity of care.
“The same concerns apply to Schedule 4 medicines.
“It’s disappointing. Pharmacists, like other health professionals, have an ethical obligation to make the health and wellbeing of patients their first priority.”
