1. Joining forces: Advanced Practice Collaborative to lead progress on Advanced Practice
November 16, 2017

JOINT MEDIA RELEASE

The nation’s leading pharmacy organisations have united today to launch the Advanced Practice Collaborative, a new committee that will work collaboratively to examine and progress drivers for Advance Practice pharmacists in Australia.

Involving representatives from the Society of Hospital Pharmacists of Australia (SHPA), the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia (PSA) and the Pharmacy Guild of Australia, the Advanced Practice Collaborative will meet quarterly to progress Advanced Practice in Australia.

The committee will examine barriers and enablers to Advanced Practice, review and monitor progress and adoption, provide advocacy and leadership and provide a liaison point for the profession and develop an action plan for implementation of Advanced Practice in Australia.

SHPA will shortly be establishing a body to oversee a process for assessing the individual impact of pharmacists’ experience and expertise for Advanced Practice recognition.

PSA will be undertaking their own scoping for Advanced Practice assessment over the coming months as the new collaborative discusses strategies that will help drive a sustainable assessment model for Advanced Practice.

Both PSA and SHPA would be responsible for implementing and maintaining the Advanced Practice Award standards and guidelines, the award assessment protocol and guidelines, the quality assurance process and guidelines for assessment agencies.

SHPA President Professor Michael Dooley said the timing is right to facilitate the return of an Advanced Practice process in Australia.

“It has been a strong year for all three organisations – at SHPA, our new partnership with the Royal Pharmaceutical Society [GB] means the Advanced Practice Collaborative can draw directly on international research and experience to hit the ground running,” Prof Dooley said.

“Meanwhile, the resounding endorsement of Australian pharmacy initiatives on the global stage at the 77th International Pharmacy Federation Congress in South Korea in September, showed Australian pharmacists are more than ready to have their dedication and innovation independently recognised and verified.”

PSA National President Dr Shane Jackson said he was delighted the three major pharmacy organisations were working together on practitioner development and identifying what support structures can be put in place to facilitate Advanced Practice.

Pharmacy Guild of Australia National President George Tambassis also welcomed the new collaboration across the profession: “I look forward to progress on this front in the interests of the profession, and most importantly our patients.”

 

About the Society of Hospital Pharmacists of Australia
SHPA is the national, professional, for-purpose organisation for leading pharmacists and pharmacy technicians working across Australia’s health system, advocating for their pivotal role improving the safety and quality of medicines use. Embedded in multidisciplinary medical teams and equipped with exceptional medicines management expertise, SHPA members are progressive advocates for clinical excellence, committed to evidence-based practice and passionate about patient care.

About the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia
PSA is the peak national professional pharmacy organisation representing Australia’s 30,000 pharmacists working in all sectors and across all locations. The core business of PSA is practice improvement in pharmacy by providing continuing professional development and practice support, in order to improve the health of Australians. PSA provides an extensive program of education and professional development activities across Australia, including the PSA Intern Training Program. www.psa.org.au

About the Pharmacy Guild of Australia
The Pharmacy Guild of Australia is an employer body representing community pharmacy. It seeks to serve the interests of its members and to support community pharmacy in its role delivering quality health outcomes for all Australians. The Guild is committed to supporting and maintaining the community pharmacy model as the most appropriate and efficient system of delivering medicines, medication management and related services to the Australian public. The 5700 community pharmacies across Australia dispense over 350 million prescriptions annually.

2. Aboriginal health service pharmacist committee holds inaugural meeting
November 17, 2017

JOINT MEDIA RELEASE

In recognition of the growing number of pharmacists working in Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisations (ACCHOs), the National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation (NACCHO) and the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia (PSA) have hosted the first ACCHO Special Interest Group (SIG) Committee meeting.

The inaugural meeting took place at the NACCHO annual conference on Wednesday 1 November in Canberra.

Committee members consist of pharmacist representatives from every State and Territory who will provide peer support, advocacy and input into key medicines-related policy items for NACCHO and PSA.

PSA National President Dr Shane Jackson said the group’s authoritative knowledge will contribute to the development of PSA’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Service Pharmacist Career Pathway.

“The Committee plays a valuable role in supporting pharmacists working in ACCHOs, particularly those in rural and remote areas,” Dr Jackson said.

“Committee members are working to encourage the growth of this career path with a shared commitment to embedding pharmacists in ACCHOs nationally.”

NACCHO Director of Medicines Policy and Programs Mike Stephens said: “It’s really satisfying to have seen this network grow organically over the last few years. The Committee’s collective expertise will be invaluable for informing policy in our sector and there is a real opportunity for the sharing and networking to grow and to add value to each member’s respective health organisation.”

 

3. New 6CPA resource hub for all pharmacists
November 20, 2017

A new resource hub to help pharmacists implement new and expanded Sixth Community Pharmacy Agreement (6CPA) programs has been launched by the peak national body for pharmacists, the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia (PSA).

Under revised rules, pharmacists providing 6CPA-funded medication adherence and management services will provide patient data to the 6CPA Program Administrator at the time of the initial service and at a six-month follow-up consultation. This data collection aims to demonstrate the impact of these services on patient health outcomes.

Data collection for Staged Supply began on 1 July 2017 and data collection for the Dose Administration Aid (DAA), MedsCheck and Diabetes MedsCheck programs will begin from 1 February 2018. Requirements for the Home Medicines Review (HMR) program are still to be finalised.

PSA National President Dr Shane Jackson said PSA recognised the importance of new data collection and reporting requirements, and was committed to supporting all pharmacists to implement the redesigned programs.

“It is vital that pharmacists can continue to assist patients by providing services that have a strong evidence base,” Dr Jackson said.

The new hub is available to all pharmacists via PSA’s website, and includes revised guidelines and quick reference tools for DAA, MedsCheck and Diabetes MedsCheck, and Staged Supply services. A range of practice support and education materials to assist pharmacists to deliver the redesigned 6CPA programs, including e-learning modules and case studies, will be released in the coming months.

Pharmacists should use the hub in conjunction with 6CPA program rules and resources available at the 6CPA website.

PSA thanks the Australian Government Department of Health for providing funding for these resources.

 

4. Elise Apolloni wins Telstra Australian Young Business Women’s Award
November 22, 2017

The peak national body for pharmacists, the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia (PSA), has congratulated ACT pharmacist Elise Apolloni for receiving the 2017 Telstra Australian Young Business Women’s Award at a national gala dinner in Melbourne last night.

The prestigious Award recognises exceptional business women from diverse industries across Australia and Asia.

PSA National President Dr Shane Jackson congratulated Ms Apolloni, Managing Partner of Capital Chemist Wanniassa, on her outstanding achievement.

“Ms Apolloni’s innovation and leadership are an inspiration to all pharmacists,” Dr Jackson said. “She has been a tireless advocate for the role of pharmacists, including as a PSA ACT Branch Committee member since 2013.

“Her strategic and innovative ideas have transformed Capital Chemist Wanniassa to address gaps in health services in her community.”

In addition to her work in community pharmacy, Ms Apolloni dedicates her time to volunteering as a telephone crisis supporter for Lifeline Canberra and phone counsellor for the Pharmacists’ Support Service. She raises awareness of mental health in her community as a Mental Health First Aid Instructor, and was the first ACT-based and accredited Credentialed Diabetes Educator.

Capital Chemist Wanniassa has claimed several awards this year, including 2017 Pharmacy of the Year in Excellence in Professional Innovation. In July, Ms Apolloni received the PSA Early Career Pharmacist of the Year at PSA17. Professional services pharmacist Kayla Lee also took home the UTS Innovative Pharmacist of the Year Award in November for her mental health program Pharmafriend.

“I am delighted to see the team at Capital Chemist Wanniassa recognised for their exceptional achievements in transforming pharmacy for the future,” Dr Jackson said.

 

5. Training for pharmacy assistants to support pain management
November 23, 2017

JOINT MEDIA RELEASE

Pain is one of the most common reasons to visit a pharmacy. Many customers have established routines and preferred medicines to relieve their pain. The change to scheduling of certain medicines to relieve pain on 1 February 2018 represents a significant change to the types of medicines available to relieve pain in the pharmacy.

This change is also expected to affect many customers’ pain management strategies. In order to help customers better manage their pain, pharmacy assistants need to understand the types of pain commonly seen in a pharmacy setting, as well as the situations where customers require pharmacist interaction.

The Guild and PSA have developed a series of five modules to assist pharmacy assistants to understand the change to scheduling of these medicines and adapt to the new scheduling requirements.

The two organisations have collaborated to develop the package of materials – designed to support pharmacists and pharmacy assistants – which reflect a whole-of-pharmacy approach to ensure the entire pharmacy sector is prepared for the change.

The third of these modules, Scheduling changes: Pain management for pharmacy assistants, will assist pharmacy assistants to recognise key types of pain in pharmacy, medicines used to treat pain and when they are or are not appropriate, and when customers will require referral to the pharmacist, including key symptoms that require immediate referral.

This activity has been approved for 45 minutes of QCPP Refresher Training and will contribute to the annual requirement of three hours of QCPP Refresher for pharmacy assistants.

To enrol in this course please visit www.myCPD.org.au or www.psa.org.au/codeine/education

For more information, contact either Guild Learning and Development on 03 9810 9930 or email learninganddevelopment@guild.org.au or PSA on 1300 269 772 or email education@psa.org.au