‘A risky proposition’: pharmacy prescribing expands further

A new plan from the Northern Territory Government to expand the number of medical treatments accessible at its pharmacies has been met with concern from GPs.
 
The NT Government announced this week that it is entering into public consultation about what health conditions should be treated at pharmacies to ‘avoid unnecessary medical appointments’.
 
‘Community pharmacists are highly trained and regulated health professionals who have the skills and knowledge to provide additional services,’ its statement reads.
 
‘Expanded pharmacy services could include access to treatments for common ailments such as acute nausea and vomiting, impetigo (school sores), mild-to-moderate allergic skin conditions and simple wounds and ear infections.’
 
The announcement comes after pharmacy prescribing pilots in Queensland and New South Wales have raised fears from medical practitioners, and there was a rise in UTI hospitalisations seen in Queensland after pharmacy prescribing was implemented.
 
RACGP Rural Council Deputy Chair Dr Rod Omond worked for almost a decade in Darwin, and told newsGP the idea of the NT being added to that list is worrying.
 
‘Pharmacists are not trained to do diagnosis, and there’s always a risk that misdiagnosis may occur with untrained people,’ he said.
 
‘It won't help people out, like Indigenous people in remote communities, at all, because there are no pharmacies in those communities and no pharmacists.’
 
The NT Government also highlighted the idea of introducing more vaccines through pharmacies in the future.
 
‘As well as an increase in the range of medicines that can be supplied by a pharmacist in an emergency if a patient’s prescription runs out, or medicines have been lost,’ the Government said.
 
The Territory has 43 community pharmacies across Darwin, Palmerston, Katherine, Nhulunbuy, Tennant Creek and Alice Springs.
 
The NT Government said this move was a part of a wider national push, as ‘reforms to increase the scope of practice of community pharmacists are underway across Australia’.
 
But when it comes to a national approach, Dr Omond said ‘the same concerns are there’.
 
‘[Pharmacists] are not trained for clinical diagnosis and while they could be used to monitor medications to a greater extent, moving into the area of diagnosis is a risky proposition,’ he said.
 
The RACGP has previously described this trend in changing pharmacists’ scope of practice as ‘an unfortunate pattern across Australia’.
 
Moving forward, Dr Omond believes there are several ways governments could improve primary care accessibility outside of pharmacies.
 
‘Including medical students having more general practice experience during their training and helping junior doctors have good experiences and be supported,’ he said.
 
Feedback is open to Northern Territory residents until 7 August 2024.
 
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Government Northern Territory NT pharmacies pharmacy prescribing prescriptions scope of practice treatments vaccines