Latest / 360 with Katie Woolf / Pharmacy Guild of Australia’s NT Branch President Peter Hatswell says training modules are being developed so that pharmacists can eventually treat common medical conditions

Transcript

Pharmacy Guild of Australia’s NT Branch President Peter Hatswell says training modules are being developed so that pharmacists can eventually treat common medical conditions · 360 with Katie Woolf

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  Speaker 1: As I mentioned, the Northern Territory government recently passed amendments
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  Speaker 1: to the Medicines, Poisons and Therapeutic Goods legislation. It does
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  Speaker 1: allow pharmacists from what we can gather, to supply life
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  Speaker 1: saving medications to prevent over doses. But joining me on
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  Speaker 1: the line to tell us a little bit more is
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  Speaker 1: the Pharmacy Guild of Australia's Northern Territory branch President Peter Hatswell.
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  Speaker 1: Good morning to you, Peter.
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  Speaker 2: Good morning Katie.
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  Speaker 1: Great to have you on the show. Peter, I've got
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  Speaker 1: to say we've all been a little bit confused about
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  Speaker 1: what exactly this legislation means. Can you give us a
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  Speaker 1: bit further detail about what this change does mean and
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  Speaker 1: maybe even an example of how it would work.
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  Speaker 2: Well. The legislation basically opens the door to allow appropriately
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  Speaker 2: trained pharmacists and another qualified health professionals to diagnose and
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  Speaker 2: treat every day acute and chronic conditions so they can
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  Speaker 2: there is a great need in the community for other
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  Speaker 2: health professionals besides GPS to be able to deal with
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  Speaker 2: those common conditions, and so it's a really good thing
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  Speaker 2: for the community.
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  Speaker 1: And so what kind of conditions would it include, I mean,
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  Speaker 1: is it only medications to prevent overdoses or does this
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  Speaker 1: go much broader?
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  Speaker 2: Well, the overdose part that's with the LOCKSIGN. That's a
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  Speaker 2: very important life saving change and that's kind of directly
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  Speaker 2: in legislation. So pharmacists and other like professionals can give
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  Speaker 2: out the LOCKSIGN injection, which which would save someone's life
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  Speaker 2: if they were in an overdose situation, whether it's illegally
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  Speaker 2: obtained or legally, so it can happen. And there are
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  Speaker 2: people dying pretty much every day Australia wide from overdoses
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  Speaker 2: and so this is really important. But the other thing
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  Speaker 2: that this legislation does not directly, it basically opens the
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  Speaker 2: doors that pharmacists and the health professionals can treat, diagnose
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  Speaker 2: and treat a range of things. Well, in particular, there's
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  Speaker 2: about twenty three that have been named by the Queensland
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  Speaker 2: Pilot and New South Wales tile like asthma, gastro and
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  Speaker 2: nausea and vomiting, urine attract infections, ear infections, skin infections,
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  Speaker 2: the oral contraceptive pill pill, a number of other things.
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  Speaker 2: That's just a short list, but there's quite a few.
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  Speaker 2: The legislation yourself doesn't actually restrict it. That's really now
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  Speaker 2: in the hands of the Pharmacy Guild to come up
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  Speaker 2: with those those everyday conditions that we're going to we're
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  Speaker 2: going to train pharmacists to treat.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, right, because this is something that you and I
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  Speaker 1: have spoken about before previously and whether it was something
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  Speaker 1: that should actually you know, be able to happen, and
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  Speaker 1: whether territories should be able to come in and see
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  Speaker 1: a pharmacist rather than in some cases you know, having
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  Speaker 1: to go and get an appointment with the GP.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, exactly, it has come through. There's obviously it's just
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  Speaker 2: just the first step to create the legal kind of opening.
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  Speaker 2: But now you know, with the educational program, so pharmacists
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  Speaker 2: will need to go through quite an expensive training program
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  Speaker 2: one hundred and twenty hours supervised as well, and to
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  Speaker 2: become appropriately trained to be able to deal with these conditions.
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  Speaker 2: And of course we need that sort of the guidelines,
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  Speaker 2: the clinical guidelines that the pharmacists will follow in order
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  Speaker 2: to treat these conditions and needs are the Spain guidelines
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  Speaker 2: that that doctors already use for treating the same conditions.
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  Speaker 1: And so what we're called the Pharmacy Guild sort of
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  Speaker 1: have to conduct now in order to get that happening.
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  Speaker 2: All the times of Guild is in the process now
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  Speaker 2: of creating those training modules that the pharmacists can can
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  Speaker 2: use to become appropriately qualified, and they are also working
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  Speaker 2: on the standard treatment guidelines, which, like I said, they're
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  Speaker 2: based on the exact same guidelines that gps currently use
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  Speaker 2: or treating those conditions. So that all that framework and
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  Speaker 2: the whole controlling making sure that nobody goes out there
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  Speaker 2: and tries to treat something that they don't know exactly
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  Speaker 2: what they're doing. That's all going to be part of
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  Speaker 2: the process, and in the end we're going to have
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  Speaker 2: the option for the community people to go to their
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  Speaker 2: pharmacy and get treated to those conditions rather than waiting
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  Speaker 2: you know, potentially weeks to see a GP or you know,
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  Speaker 2: we're still end up in a hospital with some very
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  Speaker 2: serious consequence of not getting treatment.
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  Speaker 1: So, Peter, how soon do you reckon we are going
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  Speaker 1: to see you know, territorians being able to go to
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  Speaker 1: the pharmacy and do that.
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  Speaker 2: Well, the treatment protocols are being sort of drafted. They
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  Speaker 2: should be ready early next year, as well as the
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  Speaker 2: training modules that will be available. But then it's really
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  Speaker 2: a matter of everybody. The pharmacists who want to partake
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  Speaker 2: and be able to diagnose and treat these things have
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  Speaker 2: to then go through the educational process. It could be
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  Speaker 2: it's just the early days, so I say it would
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  Speaker 2: be either late or sort of mid to late next year,
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  Speaker 2: or possibly even twenty twenty four. So you know, everyone
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  Speaker 2: needs to know, you know, to go through that process
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  Speaker 2: and be all ready to go, and our thinking it
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  Speaker 2: is going to take a little while, so not just yet.
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  Speaker 1: Do you reckon there'll be a big take up from pharmacists.
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  Speaker 1: Do you reckon that there'll be quite a few pharmacists
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  Speaker 1: that do want to go down that path.
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  Speaker 2: Well, who knows. I really hope, So I do believe
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  Speaker 2: there are some areas that it really particularly suits. There
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  Speaker 2: are places in Australia and in the NT where there's
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  Speaker 2: a population based but no GP actually available. Tenant Creek
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  Speaker 2: is one of them, and at certain times areas like
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  Speaker 2: Catherine do end up going without a GP, and those places,
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  Speaker 2: you know, this is a particularly a valuable resource for them.
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  Speaker 2: So I really hope they do take it up. And
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  Speaker 2: the Guild is certainly going to be working with all
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  Speaker 2: those community pharmacies and encourage them to do so and
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  Speaker 2: provide them whatever support they need to make it happen.
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  Speaker 2: But yeah, in Darwin and our springs, absolutely, I know
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  Speaker 2: there will be people that take it up. I just
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  Speaker 2: don't know who at this stage that's up to. That's
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  Speaker 2: a decision.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, So Peter, you do reckon that this is going
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  Speaker 1: to have quite a good benefit in some of our
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  Speaker 1: more regional and remote locations.
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  Speaker 2: Absolutely, this is where I think the great value is.
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  Speaker 2: But there's nowhere in Australia that isn't suffering, and the
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  Speaker 2: GPS Australia wide are suffering from huge over over work
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  Speaker 2: situation where they're having to you know, there are many
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  Speaker 2: doctors saying that they're working for weeks on end without
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  Speaker 2: a single day off and that's that's that's bad. It's
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  Speaker 2: of no fault of their own. They're doing the best
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  Speaker 2: they can, but working weeks and weeks and long hours
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  Speaker 2: is a dangerous situation and no one should be put
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  Speaker 2: in that situation, not the doctors, not the patients for
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  Speaker 2: you know, who are going to see someone who could
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  Speaker 2: potentially be exhausted, and you know, we need to help.
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  Speaker 2: We need to help where we can.
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  Speaker 1: Someone has just messaged through and ask if someone's overdosing,
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  Speaker 1: how can they walk into a pharmacy and get excuse
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  Speaker 1: my pronunciation, now lock sign. What what a CROC says
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  Speaker 1: that person? I mean, what would you say to them?
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  Speaker 2: Well, it's about anticipation. I think they're absolutely right they're overdosing.
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  Speaker 2: They're not. But if they can, if they are in
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  Speaker 2: a potentially dangerous situation where they could be taking there,
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  Speaker 2: however they get them. Yeah, they can now get them
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  Speaker 2: to have on hand, and they can have them in
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  Speaker 2: their medicine cabinet. And the people who are living with
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  Speaker 2: people who are you know, could potentially overdose, well, clearly
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  Speaker 2: they then if they have them in their possession. If
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  Speaker 2: you have a loved one that as much as you
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  Speaker 2: try that they do, they do take opioids, either legally
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  Speaker 2: or legally, then they should have one of these things
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  Speaker 2: available for them and that yes, they could save lives.
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  Speaker 2: But so it's you know, obviously we can't magically make
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  Speaker 2: this happen, but people do end up taking their loved
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  Speaker 2: ones to a pharmacy in an overdose situation, or at
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  Speaker 2: least run to the pharmacy when they know someone is
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  Speaker 2: in trouble and get what they need. I mean that
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  Speaker 2: people who have overdose are clearly not responsive and there
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  Speaker 2: is a small window they'll be it small. It needs
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  Speaker 2: to happen, and it happened as soon as possible, and
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  Speaker 2: it can still save them life if they can get
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  Speaker 2: the thing quick enough.
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  Speaker 1: A bit more broadly, with the changes to this legislation
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  Speaker 1: and with the fact that it does really open the
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  Speaker 1: door then to pharmacists being able to diagnose, you know,
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  Speaker 1: certain certain certain types of ailments. Do you reckon? There's
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  Speaker 1: going to be much pushback from the GPS.
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  Speaker 2: Look, I hope not. I believe that they've already spoken
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  Speaker 2: out and they're worried that there's going to be a
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  Speaker 2: dangerous situation and someone say, for instance, could be taking
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  Speaker 2: coming in for a unity fact infection five six times
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  Speaker 2: and then of course the whole point is that if
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  Speaker 2: it's going on that often, then there might be something
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  Speaker 2: else going wrong. Well, farmacists are the medication experts. They
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  Speaker 2: know the actions of the medications, they know the side effects,
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  Speaker 2: the interactions of those medications with drugs and foods. They
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  Speaker 2: also know when someone shouldn't take medical the medicine. So
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  Speaker 2: there's a conty indication of some thought. They also and
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  Speaker 2: this is a vital point. They know the trigger points
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  Speaker 2: when a GP is the next appropriate step, and that's
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  Speaker 2: the safeguard, you know, And you can't predict all the
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  Speaker 2: possible things that could be wrong. And gps treat people
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  Speaker 2: in the same way. They start off with the simple solution.
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  Speaker 2: But if there's a red flag something's going wrong, the
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  Speaker 2: person's come up too often or too quickly, or it's
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  Speaker 2: not resolving, then it's time to start investigating for other
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  Speaker 2: possible situations where where there's like a potentially it's other
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  Speaker 2: sexually transmitted disease or it could be cancer situation. Well,
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  Speaker 2: that's the same process. The pharmacist will refer you said,
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  Speaker 2: there's obviously a need to look into this deeper, and
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  Speaker 2: your GP is the next person you should see. And
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  Speaker 2: that's what we're doing. All the records, every time someone
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  Speaker 2: would go and get treated by a pharmacists, those records
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  Speaker 2: are uploaded online and that information is available for any
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  Speaker 2: other pharmacist to access with the patient's permission to say
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  Speaker 2: okay if they and if the patient goes to three
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  Speaker 2: different pharmacies and gets the same thing, well each subsequent
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  Speaker 2: pharmacist would be able to see that and realize there's
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  Speaker 2: a red flag and of course the patient's GP will
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  Speaker 2: also be able to access the same information with the
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  Speaker 2: patient's permission. And see, okay, I can see what's been happening.
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  Speaker 2: It's time to look it's to look more deeper.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah right, well there you go. Pharmacy Guild of Australia's
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  Speaker 1: Northern Territory branch President Peter Hatswell, I always appreciate your time.
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  Speaker 1: Thanks so much for having a chat to us about
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  Speaker 1: this change.
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  Speaker 2: Thanks for having me on Katie.
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  Speaker 1: Thank you