THE Pharmacy Board of Australia has released draft Guidelines for pharmacists on the safe provision of pharmacy services including medicines and advice for public consultation.
As part of its review, the Board proposes to retire a range of guidelines, while updating and revising the remaining guidelines so they are more contemporary, relevant and outcomes focused.
The guidelines were last reviewed in 2015.
Changes include consolidating the existing four separate guidelines into a single document; removing guidance that duplicates guidelines published by professional organisations, such as the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia (PSA); and removing guidelines that address areas not within the remit of the Board, such as training requirements for pharmacy technicians and assistants.
Another significant change is removing the guideline that mandates a list of reference texts for all pharmacists, with the Board arguing that the texts may not all be relevant or necessary to a given pharmacist's specific role.
However, the Board notes that state and territory pharmacy premises regulators may have a list of mandatory references that must be kept at a pharmacy as part of licensing requirements.
The Board has also removed guidelines related to premises requirements, when working with allied health professionals, for example, and guidelines about equipment.
Guidelines around workload have shifted their focus from inputs to outputs, acknowledging changes in dispensary workflow arising from advances in technology.
It has also removed guidance on dose administration aids (DAAs), pointing to guidance provided by other organisations.
Pharmacists and others are invited to submit feedback either by completing an online survey, or by email, by 13 Oct 2025.
More details, including the consultation pack, are HERE. KB
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