THE Society of Hospital Pharmacists of Australia says there is no question that the scope of work of pharmacists is expanding - contradicting the position held by the Pharmacy Guild which opposes pay rises for pharmacists under a "work value claim" sought by union group APESMA (PD 24 Apr).
Responding to last week's Pharmacy Daily report, SHPA ceo Kristin Michaels said evidence of the growing impact and influence of pharmacists continued to build across the sector.
"New pharmacy roles are emerging and core pharmacy roles are expanding in scope - SHPA continues to advocate for growing recognition of this unique expertise and its criticality to patient care," Michaels said, adding that optimal care for all Australians depended on a national pharmacist workforce that was well-trained and appropriately valued.
"As well as attracting the best and brightest students to a long and successful career in pharmacy, fostering pharmacists' excellence is particularly important to supporting patients as they move from the community into hospital and back to the community again, a time when poor medicines use can have grave ramifications."
Michaels noted SHPA's commitment to the Advanced Practice Collaborative as a strategic driver of the new Advancing Practice program (PD 05 Mar), along with the Society's specialty practice streams which are harnessing the collective expertise of pharmacists to develop and deliver new and enhanced resources to improve all areas of pharmacy practice.
"As Australia's number two most trusted professional group, pharmacists must be valued by the health system as much as they are valued by the public," she urged.
The above article was sent to subscribers in Pharmacy Daily's issue from 26 Apr 18
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