Pharmacy Daily | Scope, workforce raised for next Govt term

THE Pharmaceutical Society of Australia (PSA) has congratulated Anthony Albanese and the Labor Party on their re-election and said it looks forward to working together towards a stronger, more accessible health system for all Australians.

PSA National President Associate Professor Fei Sim emphasised the importance of having health professionals working to their full scope to achieve this common goal.

"On behalf of all pharmacists, I extend my sincere congratulations to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and the Australian Labor Party on their re-election," A/Prof Sim said.

"As the government-recognised peak body for pharmacists in Australia, PSA remains committed to working with the Federal Government to ensure pharmacists are empowered and supported to practise to their full scope across the health system."

The PSA is looking to build on the last term's work with the Government on advancing professional pharmacist practice.

This includes the PSA's continued representation of the pharmacy profession on the 'Primary Care and Workforce Reviews Taskforce', the shared work plan outlined in the 'Strategic Agreement for Pharmacist Professional Practice' and formulating an agreement on pharmacy programs outside of the 8CPA.

However, A/Prof Sim noted, there are substantial workforce, patient health need and funding challenges facing our health system that need to be addressed over the next term.

"We look forward to being a constructive and pragmatic partner of government in its response to the 'Unleashing the Potential of our Health Workforce Review', which was handed down last November," A/Prof Sim said.

"The PSA is committed to supporting the detailed and complex work required to implement its recommendations for a safer, more productive and sustainable health system.

"With the right support, pharmacists can do even more to improve medicine safety and further expand access to care.

"I look forward realising this vision over the next three years alongside the re-elected Albanese Government," Associate Professor Sim concluded.

The National Rural Health Alliance (NRHA) has also congratulated the Prime Minister on his re-election, and said it stands ready to continue "a strong collaboration with the government to advance rural health reform across rural, regional and remote Australia".

It called for the government to drive key health reforms aimed at ensuring equitable access to healthcare for the 7.3 million people living outside the major cities, and said the NRHA looks forward to assisting this government with the work of implementing many of the key workforce and Medicare initiatives that were reformed during its first term.

In congratulating the Labor government on its re-election, the Consumers Health Forum (CHF) has pointed to cost-of-living pressures, waitlists and health system complexity, stressing that urgent action is needed to ensure people can afford the care they require, when and how they need it.

The CHF has urged the government to publicise the upcoming $25 PBS co-payment cap to help consumers plan for and benefit from lower medicine costs, and to introduce a system to ensure automatic application of PBS Safety Net pricing. KB