By Ethan Benedicto
The state-wide pharmacist prescribing pilot officially launched on 2 August in Victoria, which has highlighted the range of healthcare services made available at community pharmacies.
This digital marketing campaign showcases the range of available services, as well as being the major step forward in enhancing access to primary healthcare for all Victorian residents.
Amberly Park Pharmacy, which is set to begin the campaign in the coming weeks, is eager for its benefits and what it holds for overall local community health in the coming future.
Lead pharmacist Hayden Lee is confident that this a step in the right direction, especially when it comes to balancing the overall load of patients who are seeking some form of medical attention.
General practitioner visits, according to Mr Lee, “these days are really quick, rinse and repeat, it’s taken off the GP to actually treat other more serious cases”.
“We see a lot of patients come in, so mainly I think, not just the prescribed or medical certificate side of things, where pharmacies are now allowed to assess,” he said.
Participating pharmacists are authorised to prescribe certain medications and provide treatment for various conditions under a structured prescribing model.
These expanded services include oral contraceptive repeats, treatments for uncomplicated urinary tract infections, shingles treatments, mild plaque psoriasis management and travel and health vaccines.
President of the Victorian branch of the Pharmacy Guild of Australia, Anthony Tassone said that the pilot improves access to affordable healthcare, ensuring that everyone can receive the necessary care quickly and locally.
“The Victorian pharmacist prescribing pilot is a significant advancement in providing accessible, affordable, and high-quality healthcare to Victorians,” he said.
“By expanding the role of community pharmacists, we are helping to alleviate pressures on GPs and emergency departments while offering patients timely care closer to home.”
Building on the expanded services, pharmacists are equipped to manage flare-ups of mild plaque psoriasis, as well as offer resupplies of select oral contraceptive pills.
As it stands, there are over 760 pharmacies across the state that have since taken part in the pilot, with more than 10,000 patient consultations to have already been delivered according to the Guild.
For Amberly Park, training for these newly expanded services is essential, with Mr Lee saying that for treatments to UTI prescriptions, “all of our staff will have to be trained in terms of understanding what’s happening”.
“So when [there is] a referral to the pharmacist to have an antibiotic prescribed, [it] can be done in a smoother way.
“It’s more like what are the symptoms and things like that, that’s the preparation that oftentimes what we are going to do,” he said.
Speaking on the impact this pilot program could have, Mr Lee said that it has the chance to establish a foothold where “community pharmacies aren’t just a retail store”.
“It’s also about professional services and actually taking care of people’s health within that community.
“We’re lucky in Australia where it’s like we’ve got specific areas where you don’t have overcrowded pharmacies so to speak; so that way it allows us to really capitalise in the sense of the community’s trust.
“Here at Amberly Park we mainly handle a lot of patients around this area, so then you know, it creates that community feeling where people actually feel like they’re being looked after,” he said.
