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On-site aged care pharmacists must be linked to GPs: RACGP
The idea has been touted as addressing a key recommendation from the royal commission but has generated concerns over fragmentation of care.
The on-site pharmacist initiative commenced on 1 July 2024.
A measure to increase on-site pharmacists at aged care homes has some worried about fragmentation of care, or that medications will be distributed without consultation with patients’ GPs.
The Department of Health and Aged Care (DoHAC) said the on-site aged care pharmacist initiative, which started on 1 July 2024, is in line with the recommendation to improve medication management from the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety.
There are now two pathways through which a residential aged care home can access an on-site pharmacist:
- Eligible community pharmacies can access funding to employ and provide on-site pharmacists to eligible residential aged care homes
- Eligible residential aged care homes can also engage on-site pharmacists
RACGP President Dr Nicole Higgins says it is still too early to judge how the scheme will impact the sector, but overall, it was a ‘good move to ensure that there’s a focus on improving medication management in aged care’.
‘But it just needs to ensure that it’s linked in with the patient’s regular GP,’ she told
newsGP.
However, Dr Higgins said she is concerned that the well-intentioned change is cutting GPs out of the picture and risks fragmenting care.
‘What we don’t want to see is fragmentation of care through government policy, which is what we’ve seen in aged care and general practice in the past,’ she said.
‘The Government is now trying to bring in measures to reverse some of the trends that have been happening due to poor past policies and inadequate funding.’
Under the scheme, an aged care home must first attempt to access an on-site pharmacist through a community-based pharmacy of their choice.
If that pharmacy is not able to help, or they are not able to ‘come to a suitable agreement with the community pharmacy’, then the aged care home will be able to access funding directly to engage an on-site pharmacist.
Dr Higgins says this could lead to further ‘corporatisation’ of aged care.
‘It’s really important to have pharmacy involved with aged care, but we also don’t want it being contracted out to big pharmacy,’ she said.
‘Pharmacists and GPs get the best outcomes when we work together for our patients.
‘We want to ensure that our local pharmacists are engaged, and I’d hate to see the corporatisation of pharmacy services into aged care.’
It is not required for aged care homes to go through Primary Health Networks (PHN) to engage with on-site pharmacists or get funding.
The DoHAC said, ‘PHN involvement is currently in development and further details will be available later this year’.
It is optional for community pharmacies and residential aged care homes to participate in the measure.
The funding is available on a ratio of one on-site pharmacist per 250 beds, with increments of 50 beds equivalent to an on-site pharmacist for one day.
‘This will support pharmacists building a presence on-site, even in smaller residential aged care homes,’ the DoHAC said.
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