Pharmacy Daily | APC does away with CPD standards

THE Australian Pharmacy Council (APC) has announced it will retire the Accreditation Standards for Continuing Professional Development Activities (CPD).

The decision to phase out the standards, which have been used by CPD accrediting organisations to accredit CPD activities since 2013, is designed to reflect the evolving needs of the sector.

It will now be the responsibility of individual pharmacists to determine whether a CPD activity is good quality, and it is expected they will continue to undertake activities that meet the needs of their planned CPD without accreditation.

"The Pharmacy Board of Australia does not mandate the need for CPD to be accredited by a third party," said APC Chief Executive Officer Bronwyn Clark (pictured).

"We also understand that they are intending to commence public consultation on their draft revised CPD Registration Standards shortly, and so the retirement of APC's standards is timely."

APC has implemented a transition plan for impacted CPD accrediting organisations, including the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia, Advanced Pharmacy Australia and the Australasian College of Pharmacy.

CPD accreditation by the three organisations of activities against the APC standards may continue until 31 Dec 2025, after which this activity will cease.

Additionally, APC will keep the CPD standards on their website for reference and accredited programs may continue to use the APC logos on their promotional material until 31 Dec 2026.

For participants who have enrolled in an accredited CPD activity, this activity will remain accredited until the expiry date.

"We maintain deep oversight of our accreditation process with degree programs, intern training programs, and pharmacist education programs - including education programs in Medicines Management Review, Aged Care Onsite Pharmacist programs, and Pharmacist Prescriber programs," Clark concluded.

For more information about expiry dates for individual activities, APC is advising that individuals contact the education provider delivering the activity.

Pharmacists who want to know more about the decision can refer to the FAQ section on APC's website, here. JM