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A Minor Ailment Scheme – Streamlining What We Have Always Done
The PGA has submitted a proposal to government for the provision of a minor ailments program. While pharmacists have provided this type of service for many years, a more streamlined and integrated version might well serve the community better. The Australian Self Medication Industry (ASMI) commissioned a study in 2008 and found that 15 percent…
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GP Practice Pharmacists – What is the Future?
Many of Australia’s accredited pharmacists have become frustrated with the “silo” they have been forced to occupy. The frustration was triggered when financing of HMR’s was manipulated so as to create “caps” on the numbers of reports that could be produced, and that a lower-level PGA inspired “Medscheck” was thrust on the scene that competed…
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Balanced view in professional opinions
The new-look Australian Journal of Pharmacy heralds a interesting direction in medical marketing and related advertising. The front cover and inside two pages tell us that Panadol Osteo is “Australia’s No 1 pain reliever brand for osteoarthritis”. Pharmacists insist on “evidence” when discussions emerge on other options for arthritic pain, and accordingly, may I supply…
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The Australian Government’s New Childcare Package
The Australian government’s recently proposed childcare package has mandated the ‘full’ schedule of childhood vaccines (up to the age of 19) in order for families to receive government welfare benefits of $15,000. This package has removed the right of parents to refuse any of the 12 vaccines recommended for infants if they wish to receive…
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Good leaders ask great questions
Two leaders whom I respect a great deal and whose work I have studied both stress the importance of asking questions to find answers that will unlock your success. Dale Carnegie wrote about the ten ways to be a leader. Number four is to ask questions. John Maxwell in April of this year was named…
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COSBA Support for Pharmacists Owning Pharmacies
Peter Strong is the name of the chief executive of the Council of Small Business of Australia, and he was invited to address the National Press Club recently about Australia’s economic health. Given that political parties of all flavours acknowledge small business as being the driver of employment and innovation within Australia’s economy, it was…
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Professional images?
I’m still trying to cope with the image of a pharmacist announcing that he was “binning the crap” or words to that affect, as he proudly announced that he no longer wanted to keep homeopathic medicines. That is his decision and is to be respected, but why would he make a goose of himself, especially…
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More Father’s Day advice – from readers
Several weeks ago I used this column to share lessons I learned from my parents in recognition of Mother’s Day and Father’s Day. My intention was to honor mothers and fathers everywhere for the wisdom they impart to their children. The column apparently struck a chord, because I had a record response from readers about…
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I’ve been thinking about how the work we do today may impact the world we live in tomorrow
This afternoon, I received an e-mail from my friend George Laurer (to my right), the inventor of the UPC bar code—the very same code scanned on the items I purchased this morning at Costco and Trader Joe’s. It arrived on the anniversary (June 26, 1974) of the first bar-coded product being scanned at a point…
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Are Your Consumers Customers or Patients?
It seems that as pharmacies become more corporate in nature and larger in total business transacted, the concepts of pharmacy are tested, with the view of providing more financial benefit to the owners, either in the format of paying lowest possible wages to employed pharmacists, illegal removal or manipulation of award requirements (such as meal…