PHARMACY Guild Victorian Branch President, Anthony Tassone, says it is time the derogatory term "doctor shopper" stopped being used in connection with people visiting multiple providers to seek a drug of dependency.
In an update this week Tassone said these are "patients needing extra assistance, whether it is with pain management, mental health, drug dependency or other issues.
"They need the right care, and pharmacists can play a critical role".
Tassone also related some figures around the uptake of Vic's new SafeScript real-time monitoring system, which is currently logging 12 prescription records of a monitored medicine every minute.
Of all pharmacists in Western Vic Primary Health Network, 79% have registered for the system, along with 35% of doctors, with GP take-up expected to accelerate shortly as software packages are integrated.
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