North Queensland Pharmacy Scope of Practice Pilot trial slammed by FNQ GPs

Far Northern doctors have been left fuming following revelations of a “dangerous” leaked state government plan to trial pharmacists in diagnosing and treating certain health conditions.

FAR Northern doctors have been left fuming following revelations of a “dangerous” leaked state government plan to trial pharmacists in diagnosing and treating certain health conditions.

The Australian Medical Association is urging the Queensland Government to rethink its North Queensland Pharmacy Scope of Practice Pilot trial – a plan that would allow pharmacists to diagnose and treat specific health conditions.

AMA president Dr Omar Khorshid said if it went ahead, the pilot would be delivering “second-rate health” and “we will see pharmacists becoming de facto GPs.”

“Pharmacists are not doctors. They are experts in medication and a key part of community health care, but lack the necessary training and experience that makes general practice such a critical part of our health system,” he said.

Far Northern doctors have expressed their concerns over conflicts of interest that may arise from a proposed pharmacy scope of practice trial.

Three Far Northern GPs have all expressed their horror at the proposal, which they believe undermines their profession.

Yorkeys Medical and Northern Skin Doctors’, Dr Lee Jones said there was an obvious commercial conflict of interest.

“Doctors prescribe and pharmacists dispense the medication – this allows for a cross check and prevents any profession from prescribing and then making money from their own prescriptions,” he said.

FNQH Cairns Skin Cancer Clinic doctor Sebastian Moss said he was horrified that a pharmacist’s 120 hours of supervised practice would be considered sufficient to enable them to prescribe independently.

FNQH Director Vin Rajeswaran has labelled the pharmacy scope of practice pilot as dangerous. Picture: Brendan Radke

Mr Moss’ fellow clinician Dr Vin Rajeswaran labelled the plan as “dangerous”.

“Pharmacists may miss an underlying serious condition which can result in death,” he said.

Pharmacists normally do not have the indemnity insurance to cover in case of a complication which means the patient may not be able to go down the legal path.”

Queensland Health confirmed the plan was in the pipelines and still under review and therefore did not address the doctors’ concerns.

“Queensland Health is working with the Pharmacy Guild of Australia, the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia and other stakeholders to design and implement a pilot of pharmacists working to full scope in North Queensland,” a spokeswoman said.

“The scope of the pilot is exploring an expanded role for community pharmacists across multiple areas, including medication supply and dispensing, prescribing and medication administration. Details of the parameters of the trial, including the conditions for inclusion and professional prerequisites for participating pharmacists are yet to be finalised.”

The Pharmacy Guild of Australia did not respond before deadline.

Originally published as North Queensland Pharmacy Scope of Practice Pilot trial slammed by FNQ GPs