GPs are frustrated by a narrative that seems to tell the public that avoiding a doctor is a good thing. And now Tasmania is launching a pilot of its own.
A controversial pharmacy pilot trial that started in October 2023 has will be made permanent in Victoria.
State treasurer Jaclyn Simes announced the expansion as part of the state budget measures, with medical bodies expressing their criticisms of the program.
The program outlines additional prescribing abilities for pharmacists that, in many cases, allows for patients to forego general practice treatment entirely.
This has inevitably drawn criticism from GPs, who have expressed their concern over how the program could affect patient safety and impede effective multi-disciplinary care.
When the pilot program was projected for renewal recently, many medical bodies including the RACGP had made calls for a thorough evaluation of the program in consultation with stakeholders.
However, the renewal of the program was reportedly decided before any stakeholders had an opportunity to comment or reflect on the evaluation report, leaving many uncertain over the evaluation process.
“The department had the data for a long time,” Dr Anita Munoz, RACGP Victoria chair, told The Medical Republic.
“It’s just taken a very long time for them to release it to the stakeholders involved.”
However, the college has consistently reiterated that their opposition to the program is not anti-pharmacist but out of concern for how the program will further fragment healthcare.
Related
“We continue to call for there to be good collaboration and multidisciplinary team care, where pharmacists and doctors work together,” Dr Munoz told TMR.
“But the issue with the pharmacy trial is that it takes many years of study and experience and pattern recognition and learning from peers to be able to make a diagnosis and then synthesise an appropriate management plan when you consider the needs of the patient.
“I don’t see how that can be done safely in a retail pharmacy environment, particularly without the length of training and education that is required of GPs.”
Many general practice bodies have advocated for the program to more efficiently integrate further pharmacist collaboration into general practice.
“Pharmacists and doctors work incredibly well together in the same space, and pharmacists making diagnoses and decisions on their own in a retail environment may not produce the outcomes that patients are seeking,” said Dr Munoz.
“I think that GPs are frustrated that there’s an ongoing narrative that helping people to avoid seeing their GP is a good thing.
“That is really sending the wrong message to the community.
“We know that patients remain well and do better with their mental and physical health if they see their GP frequently, and see the same person frequently.”
Meanwhile, a similar initiative has been announced in the upcoming Tasmania state budget with an additional $5 million to be allocated to further pharmacist training.
Tasmania’s state government has predicted the service expansion to be available by 2026, with an additional pilot program partnering GPs with pharmacists to prescribe medications in residential aged care also set to commence.
