Questions over Blackmores
September 27, 2011
PHARMACISTS’ union APESMA
has struck out at the new
Companions Range launched by
Blackmores last week (PD 22 Sep),
saying the move may put
pharmacists in violation of the
Health Professionals Registration
legislation.
The point of contention in the
legislation, according to APESMA,
arises because of a protection in
the law “that an employee
pharmacist cannot be directed by
the owner to be involved in any
unprofessional conduct, which
would include pressuring the public
to buy vitamins they may not need”.
This protection comes into
conflict with the GuildCare
professional service software
prompt which appears when
patients fill a script for a particular
medicine suitable for the
Companion’s range, APESMA said.
“We are deeply concerned that
pharmacists are increasingly being
asked to put their expertise and
professional ethics aside by
pharmacy owners more interested
in making money than doing what
is in the best interests for the
individual patient,” APESMA’s CEO
Chris Walton said.
“No pharmacist should be forced
to recommend products without an
individual diagnosis being
performed and without a clear
body of scientific research
demonstrating the benefits for the
individual patient,” Walton added.
The pharmacists’ union also
struck out at the Pharmacy Guild of
Australia for its support of the
products saying the Guild was
“clearly more interested in profit
than patients”.
“We urge all pharmacists to
continue to put their patients first,”
the statement added.
The Pharmacy Guild has however
hit back at these claims saying
“Unfortunately, APESMA is again
engaging in ill-informed
scaremongering”.
“There is no ‘new deal which
requires pharmacists to market’
any product [and] there is not and
never would be any direction from
the Guild for pharmacists to be
involved in unprofessional
conduct”.
Clarifying its position the Guild
said that each product carries the
Gold Cross logo, and that there is
no compulsion whatsoever for
pharmacists to sell the range.
“There is absolutely no suspension
of pharmacists’ professional
standards or ethics in relation to
this matter.”
In terms of the GuildCare prompt,
the Guild said that it is “simply
systemising something that
happens in pharmacies all over
Australia every day”.
“Doctors, pharmacists and other
health professionals make
recommendations for these type of
products every day.
“This is a legitimate, new
approach to marketing of well
established products – products
which over the years have been
frequently suggested and
recommended by prescribing
doctors,” the Guild added.
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