GROWING concerns over unsafe practices by independent pharmacist prescribers in the UK, highlighted by the Pharmacists' Defence Association (PDA) have prompted the Royal Australian College General Practitioners (RAGCP) to reiterate its opposition to expanding pharmacists' scope of practice.
In a message to its member the PDA said it had become "increasingly concerned about incidents of unsafe practice which have started to emerge as the number of independent prescribers working in GP practices has risen".
"We have seen a number of serious incidents recently and are currently in the early stages of dealing with cases where patients deaths have been reported," the PDA said.
"Some of these recent cases are linked in some way to pharmacists prescribing inappropriately or offering poor advice, often underpinned by an assumption of competence which was ill-founded."
Responding to the PDA alert, RACGP President, Dr Harry Nespolon, said it highlighted the "dangers of non-medical prescribing".
"Pharmacists don't have the necessary medical training to safely prescribe medications, irrespective of where they work.
"Anything beyond providing medicine management advice and dispensing is completely beyond their level of expertise and professional scope of practice.
"It's vital we put the health needs of Australians ahead of the commercial imperatives of pharmacists keen to expand their scope and commercial reach.
"In the UK their pharmacy representative group is now dealing with cases where patients deaths have been reported. Is this really a road we want to go down?"
However, Pharmaceutical Society of Australia (PSA) National President, Dr Chris Freeman, backed pharmacist prescribing.
"PSA's initial priority is the first two levels of prescribing (prescribing via a structured prescribing arrangement and prescribing under supervision)," he said.
"The first application of this should be expansion of continued dispensing arrangements and prescription adaptation, as well as the development of collaborative prescribing frameworks.
"Medicine safety is everybody's responsibility including pharmacist prescribers which is why collaborative prescribing models are important in achieving safe and quality use of medicines."
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