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Pharma News
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James Ellerson: GPs were the ‘gatekeepers’ to the health system. Will they remain so? | open full screen
Chris Wright: Health: The Pollies are playing us as well as Orianthi plays the guitar. | open full screen
Climate Change
GP Super Clinics
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Feature Contribution
Do the Maths - 1200 Graduates a Year and Increasing
Pharmacists graduating within Australia must have a reasonable assurance that on graduation they will have some form of a job available for them, after due diligence and reasonable effort on their part to get themselves recruited.
The current maths do not stack up - 5000 pharmacies to accommodate 1200 graduates nationally, and increasing.
Who is responsible for the planning for graduates?
GPs were the ‘gatekeepers’ to the health system. Will they remain so?
It’s often hard to tell which party is in favour of what outcome when reading some of the media coverage on doctor, pharmacy, nurse practitioner prescribing issues. Here are a few examples to ponder:
• the Guild is opposed to pharmacist prescribing
• pharmacists and nurse practitioners are to be given limited prescribing rights
• most GPs do not actually consult with a patient before issuing a repeat script.
Is eHealth critical to navigating the world of primary care?
Primary health care reform is firmly on the political agenda. For reforms to succeed they must be underpinned by the successful deployment of ehealth; absolutely.
The last decade has witnessed a major lost opportunity for ehealth in Primary Care. Many hundreds of millions of dollars have been wasted on unrealistically ambitious and poorly managed ehealth projects; many of which have failed.
Aptly named Primary Health Care Organisations (PHCO), recently inappropriately renamed ‘Medicare Locals’, will be the centre point of the reform process. Consequently a palpable sense of urgency has developed around ehealth as its central role in the health reform process becomes increasingly apparent to politicians and bureaucrats.
PSA Future of Pharmacy-Technicians to manage dispensing
Comment has been recently made in pharmacy media on the PSA Issues Paper on the “Future of Pharmacy in Australia” in respect of the upskilling of dispensing technicians to dispense without pharmacist oversight.
Comments offered on this aspect included reduced job opportunities for pharmacists, pressure to lower dispensing fees, opportunity to develop clinical services e.g. the ability to perform HMR’s.
No doubt more comment will follow as the paper is digested and potential flow-on impacts are thought through.
Writers will be participating through the pages of the i2P e-magazine to hopefully help build the future version of this PSA paper.
Health: The Pollies are playing us as well as Orianthi plays the guitar.
Our politicians are spinning like fury as we head towards the election and despite the fact their gift for spin doesn’t match Orianthi Panagaris’ gift for playing guitar they are getting away with electoral blue murder.
As for “fixing” the health system, the rhetoric is never matched by performance. After all, it is questionable that “fixing” health actually translates to votes, simply because the money required to make an impact is too great an amount compared to the votes gained…besides “fixing” is subjective anyway.
What is it with pharmacy?
The colleges are churning out Pharmacists at a rate that would embarrass the most discerning “people-smuggler”……..
Apologies for the errant humor leading to an election.
Some 1,200 bright-eyed and bushy-tailed fine and mostly young pharmacists are hitting the job market and will somehow try to squeeze into 5,000 pharmacies.
Worse, a similar number will follow them fairly smartly.
What’s it all about, I wonder?
Looking for answers
Everyone, it seems, is looking for answers. For most there are none “out there”. Those who ask the right questions generally find the right answers “within”.
Solutions abound, looking for problems. Few can define and even fewer recognise the nature and presence of specific problems. Resources are being liberally allocated to furnishing, deploying or paying for preset solutions. Disappointment and dissatisfaction seem inevitable.
Experts are readily accessible. Expertise is harder to find. The business landscape appears to be lush with new green shoots, yet barren. Much like the desert and the Lake Eyre regions of central Australia.
The climates of regions throughout the world are changing. Temperatures are rising. Record cold snaps are also being recorded. Extended dry spells are evident, offset by deluges of flooding proportions.
Prognostications by some economists conclude “boom times” have arrived or are on the near horizon. Many consumers have obviously not heard or read of the confidence building forecasts. They are constraining purchases and outlays. Retailers, particularly smaller entities, are confused, and are finding trading is tough.
In recent times we have worked with clients from a broad spectrum of sectors producing formats, templates and frameworks which enable them to “look within”.
Real riches are being rediscovered, refined and celebrated. Positive and embracing corporate cultures, are being revisited and pride inculcated, because of what made entities great and competitively advantaged in the first instance.
Distinctive symbols and myths are being recognised, valued and applied for internal cohesion, self motivation and for external profiling.
The article text which features later in this transmission unveils and outlines encouraging lessons and principles on the role and nature of a positive corporate culture.
I commend it to the former executives, the players and besieged supporters of the once high achieving, now disgraced Melbourne Storm Rugby League team.
Barry Urquhart
NAPE begs more questions than answers- for the moment
The ideal of having quality continuing pharmacy education, delivered in digestible “bite-sized” chunks plus convenience of delivery at an economical cost has been a dream for pharmacists for as long as I can remember.
With the advent of the new Australian Pharmacy Board there will be requirement for all pharmacists to undertake suitable education to maintain their registration.
While there are many acceptable education streams coming from the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia (PSA), the Pharmacy Guild of Australia (PGA) and the Australian College of Pharmacy Practice (ACPP), there is not a high degree of planning to anticipate all pharmacist needs.
For example, the delivery of professional services for a fee – there is no identifiable pathway enabling individual pharmacists to develop a professional practice that could be incorporated into a community pharmacy, a primary health care organisation, a medical centre or other suitable location.
Hmmm, I’m not convinced
A Woolworths “spokesman” (they are all still so very alpha at Woolies) has come out (excuse the expression) and declared the loss of interest in not only their “pharmacy” type trademarks but the industry of pharmacy itself.
980218 Pharmacist at Woolworths and 980219 PHARMACIST @ WOOLWORTHS, both previously registered trade marks, have been cancelled.
3Naturopathy and my Doctor.
To my pleasant surprise the family doctor offered a choice to address a painful problem highlighted by scans.
Acupuncture or an anti-inflammatory drug?
Acupuncture any day thank you, without the fries.
2 
Better patient advice loses out to costly prescription errors
A University of Otago study which shows pharmacists spend too much time seeking clarification for minor prescription errors has prompted a call for greater awareness among doctors and prescribers of this time-wasting problem.
Lead author and School of Pharmacy Senior Lecturer Dr Rhiannon Braund says the study of 20 Dunedin pharmacies found that in most cases unnecessary minor bureaucratic errors were the reason for pharmacists needing to confirm the intent of prescribers - usually doctors.
Study shows Australian quality of life varies widely
A survey of 5000 Australians conducted by the University of Technology Sydney has shown middle aged people express the lowest level in quality of life compared with people in their early 20s or mid 60’s.
The finding which throws the ‘life begins at 40’ cliché into serious doubt is among a number of revelations gained from the study.
Findings of the research will be discussed in a public lecture held at the UTS Great Hall on Tuesday 25 May 2010. Details for the lecture which is open to the public for free can be obtained from the UTS web site www.uts.edu.au/new/speaks/2010/May/2505.htm
Public participation heats up on climate change
Australians believe that climate change is here to stay, but their expectations about the severity of change fall well short of what scientists predict.
This is one of the key findings from a three-year study led by The Australian National University. The Climate Change and the Public Sphere project has interviewed more than 100 randomly selected citizens from the ACT and Goulburn about their views on climate change in various, increasingly severe, situations and how they are likely to react to it in the future.
Killed by cold: heart and stroke deaths peak in winter
* Perth and Sydney lead the country in winter heart-related deaths
* Tasmanians cope best with the cold
* Brisbane not far behind Sydney for winter deaths
* Darwin fares the best because it doesn't get so cold
Rates of cardiovascular disease increase dramatically in Australian winters because many people don't know how to rug up against the cold, a Queensland University of Technology (QUT) seasonal researcher has found.
Traumatic brain injury linked to sleep disturbance
A Monash University study has shown that sleep disturbances and depression symptoms are common among people who have suffered Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI).
The team of researchers from the School of Psychology and Psychiatry measured in a laboratory setting the sleep of 23 patients with TBI with 23 healthy people who had not suffered trauma.
Study leader, Associate Professor Shantha Rajaratnam said patients with TBI showed increased sleep disturbance and reported poorer sleep quality, and higher anxiety and depressive symptoms than healthy volunteers.
Blood Thinners May Prevent Malaria
New treatments for malaria are possible after Walter and Eliza Hall Institute scientists found that molecules similar to the blood-thinning drug heparin can stop malaria from infecting red blood cells.
Malaria is an infection of red blood cells that is transmitted by mosquitoes.
The most common form of malaria is caused by the parasite Plasmodium falciparum which burrows into red blood cells where it rapidly multiplies, leading to massive numbers of parasites in the blood stream that can cause severe disease and death.
PAC 10- A Focus on Pharmacy Practice Change
Pharmacy practice must shift its primary mission from supplying medicines to helping people make the best use of medicines in order to meet the needs of the public and ensure its survival as a health profession.
This is the view of leading US pharmacy expert Professor William A. Zellmer who will present on the topic of The Imperative for Change in Pharmacy Practice at PAC10 in October this year.
Drug Company Battles with NZ Pharmacy Guild
In a recent news item reported in the New Zealand Stuff.co.nz highlights a drug recall problem that had significant associated costs involving community pharmacy participation.
It is a problem that could occur within Australia and is currently before the courts in New Zealand.
The problem does reflect on the existing culture within the pharmacy profession where for too long pharmacists have virtually donated their services in instances where there should have been an expectation of payment for a professional service.
PGA (Australia) could monitor the legal process in New Zealand and adopt a protocol, if the result proves favourable to pharmacy.
The story (found online here) follows below:
Hmmm, I’m not convinced
A Woolworths “spokesman” (they are all still so very alpha at Woolies) has come out (excuse the expression) and declared the loss of interest in not only their “pharmacy” type trademarks but the industry of pharmacy itself.
980218 Pharmacist at Woolworths and 980219 PHARMACIST @ WOOLWORTHS, both previously registered trade marks, have been cancelled.
3Sunlight shines on clean energy future
Dr Zhiguo Yi and Professor Ray Withers have found a simple inorganic compound can efficiently oxidise water to release oxygen.
The production of clean energy and the treatment of waste water are set to become easier thanks to ANU researchers.
The scientists – Dr Zhiguo Yi and Professor Ray L Withers of the Research School of Chemistry at ANU, along with colleagues from Japan and China – have demonstrated that a simple inorganic compound, silver orthophosphate, can efficiently be used to oxidise water with only the power of light.
The oxidisation process can be used to convert solar energy to clean energy or break down contaminants in water.
The research is published in Nature Materials.
The Ascendancy of Warwick Plunkett
Prior to negotiations commencing for the Fifth Community Pharmacy Agreement (5CPA) the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia (PSA) and the Pharmacy Guild of Australia agreed that the two organisations would present a unified front in their dealings with government.
That did not happen and many details of the 5CPA were completed in secrecy and without the appropriate input by the PSA.
Explanations were later offered by the PGA, but they rang a little hollow and were certainly outside of the spirit of a unified front.
Certainly, on the surface it appears that the PGA did not honour an agreement and was prepared to discount their formal agreement to the extent that it seemed not to exist at all.
The news item reporting the rift between the two organisations follows and Mark Coleman has been asked to provide a commentary at the foot of this news item.
GPs were the ‘gatekeepers’ to the health system. Will they remain so?
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James Ellerson is passionate about developing primary health care services across the spectrum of all health care practitioners working in a practical alliance, whether in an urbanised or a remote setting. | |
It’s often hard to tell which party is in favour of what outcome when reading some of the media coverage on doctor, pharmacy, nurse practitioner prescribing issues. Here are a few examples to ponder: • the Guild is opposed to pharmacist prescribing • pharmacists and nurse practitioners are to be given limited prescribing rights • most GPs do not actually consult with a patient before issuing a repeat script.
I read recently that Dr Pesce and the AMA intend protesting long and loud to the Health Minister and the Prime Minister over the decision to give pharmacists limited prescribing rights under the ‘medication continuance’ program proposed in the 5th CPA.
It seems the AMA sees this as a clear signal the government intends to carve up the traditional role of the local family doctor. In short Dr Pesce believes the future of quality health care in Australia is under threat. He might well be right. But what if he is wrong? Perhaps it’s more that the traditional role of the local family doctor is about to change. That’s a far cry from “being under threat”.
Most people don’t like change. It can be uncomfortable, it can mean more work, and it can threaten those with complacent attitudes.
“Without change, something sleeps inside us, and seldom awakens.
The sleeper must awaken.”
Frank Herbert, American science fiction writer 1920-1986
The world keeps advancing. Technology is driving change. Mobile phones, blue tooth, GPS, iPods and iPads are everywhere. We have to keep up or we will get left behind.
The Guild is driving change in its world, hungry for more power and control over its domain. Its focus is clear; keep a lid on the number of pharmacies, drive its robotic system into the market, get access to the MBS and control the escript exchange space and the consumer’s medication record.
By comparison GPs don’t seem so keen change. They have seen their role in primary care as the gatekeepers to the health system; which in years long gone they were. But their world has suddenly changed around them.
A new type of gatekeeper is required. For far too long the doctor and representative bodies like the AMA, RACGP and AGPN have had a golden opportunity laid out before them to strengthen their position and re-engineer primary care to ensure they remain the gatekeepers and coordinators of health care. But they have let that opportunity slip slide away. In fact, if you believe in the role of the GP as the gatekeeper of the healthcare system you will be forced to conclude that they have failed themselves and those whom they treat. Is it now too late? Has the horse has bolted?
Perhaps the ‘gatekeeper’ role is now old hat, outdated and superseded. Perhaps a new gatekeeper is badly needed. With the recently announced Primary Health Care Organisations (PHCO) a new gatekeeper has emerged on the horizon. With $355 million earmarked in the federal budget to build 23 new GP super clinics, in addition to the 31 super clinics announced at the last election, we now have a total of 54 GP Super Clinics in the pipeline, with some already fully operational. Further, a ‘substantial’ amount of that money has been earmarked to upgrade 425 primary care facilities in Australia which, when upgraded, can be ‘likened’ to a super clinic in everything but name! So in effect, when this construction program is complete almost 480 ‘super-type’ clinics will be up and running across the nation!
Although it’s a bit late for GPs to start arguing for dispensing rights the next best thing would be to have pharmacists located in medical practices as part of the coordinated primary health care team. The Guild is against that happening. I wonder why.
Could it be that the combination of pharmacists, escripts from doctors, internet prescribing, mail order pharmacy and robotic dispensing all pivoted around a busy medical practice, dare I say ‘ Super Clinic’ (wash your mouth out with velvet soap Johnny) might be the very thing the Guild does not want to see eventuate. Could it be the forerunner to making the Guild irrelevant and the PSA supreme?!
The key question in this whole scenario is whether these new PHCOs should evolve from a restructuring of the Australian General Practice Network (AGPN) and a consolidation of Divisions of General Practice, or, whether some other model should be adopted. Dr Djakic, Chair of the AGPN, has stated “PHCOs, will evolve from our Networks”. He said “funding for the first wave of Primary Health Care Organisations announced in tonight’s budget will transform existing general practice networks into up to 15 PHCOs by July 2010, with the rest in place by July 2012”.1.
With doctors leading PHCOs will they remain the ‘gatekeepers’?!
Oh, for the quiet life.
1. 11 May 2010, AGPN Media release, Primary health care organisations – transforming Australia’s health care future.
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Dr Andrew Byrne & Associates: New York Pain Conference
Con Berbatis: May 2010 Pharmacy Research Events Practice Development
Dr John Dunlop (PGDipPharm, MPharm, DPharm(Auck), FACPP, FNZCP, FPSNZ, MCAPA): Are Pharmacists their own worst enemy? | open full screen
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