Latest / 360 with Katie Woolf / The Pharmacy Guild’s Peter Hatswell says it’s likely the NT will soon give pharmacists more scope to prescribe certain medications easing the burden on GPs

Transcript

The Pharmacy Guild’s Peter Hatswell says it’s likely the NT will soon give pharmacists more scope to prescribe certain medications easing the burden on GPs · 360 with Katie Woolf

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: You know that more states are moving to give pharmacists
• 0:02
  Speaker 1: more scope to prescribe certain medications. Queensland has been trialing
• 0:07
  Speaker 1: the approach with pharmacists able to treat the likes of
• 0:10
  Speaker 1: urine retract infections, and New South Wales has decided to
• 0:13
  Speaker 1: follow suit. Now joining me on the line to tell
• 0:16
  Speaker 1: us a little bit more or to talk further about
• 0:18
  Speaker 1: this is Peter Hatswell, the NTI President of the Pharmacy Guild.
• 0:22
  Speaker 2: Good morning to you, Peter, Good morning Katie.
• 0:25
  Speaker 1: Great to have you on the show again. Is there
• 0:28
  Speaker 1: any progress towards pharmacists having more scope here in the
• 0:31
  Speaker 1: Northern Territory at this stage there is.
• 0:35
  Speaker 2: We have been meeting with government and Natasha in particular
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  Speaker 2: and we have brought up the issue and the government
• 0:42
  Speaker 2: is very enthusiastic about the idea. They've got to do
• 0:47
  Speaker 2: their own background work, but I think every chance that
• 0:51
  Speaker 2: it will move into this state as.
• 0:52
  Speaker 1: Well well, given the fact that more states are doing
• 0:55
  Speaker 1: it now, do you think that that's going to influence
• 0:57
  Speaker 1: the plans for here in the territory.
• 1:02
  Speaker 2: I think it's good. The more states that come on board,
• 1:05
  Speaker 2: the more likely that the Northern Territory will see it
• 1:09
  Speaker 2: as you know, it's working and it's proven, it's a
• 1:13
  Speaker 2: proven track, and so why wouldn't you. I mean, we've
• 1:17
  Speaker 2: Northern Territory and Darwin and everywhere around has got just
• 1:20
  Speaker 2: as big a problem in getting to see a GP,
• 1:22
  Speaker 2: and people are suffering as a result. They all they're
• 1:26
  Speaker 2: ending up in emergency and overwhelming the system there.
• 1:30
  Speaker 1: I know that aside from obviously making it easy easier
• 1:33
  Speaker 1: for patients, well, it's going to make it easier for
• 1:35
  Speaker 1: some patients with common conditions to get faster treatment. How
• 1:39
  Speaker 1: would this approach benefit gps do you think? I mean,
• 1:42
  Speaker 1: it would obviously benefit I'm assuming pharmacists in terms of
• 1:45
  Speaker 1: further business, but how do you reckon it would help
• 1:47
  Speaker 1: those GPS.
• 1:49
  Speaker 2: Well, the GPS have said many times, I've seen it
• 1:52
  Speaker 2: on TV myself that they're overwhelmed. They do, really are
• 1:56
  Speaker 2: struggling under the load of work that they have. Some
• 2:00
  Speaker 2: of haven't had a day off in weeks, and you know,
• 2:03
  Speaker 2: that's just no way to work. And certainly that that
• 2:06
  Speaker 2: would lead to the potential of of you know, missing
• 2:09
  Speaker 2: things or making mistakes, and we certainly don't want that
• 2:11
  Speaker 2: to happen. Everyone needs to have a good, safe work environment.
• 2:15
  Speaker 2: And not being over worked is part of that. So
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  Speaker 2: I think that, you know, the doctors have a very
• 2:21
  Speaker 2: important role in the healthcare of everybody in their station,
• 2:25
  Speaker 2: and and they this is going to help them be
• 2:29
  Speaker 2: able to focus on what they're best at and take
• 2:32
  Speaker 2: away the sort of nitty gritty common stuff that that
• 2:35
  Speaker 2: can be handled by pharmacists quite safely and you know,
• 2:39
  Speaker 2: without problems. And it's been proven in other countries. Canada
• 2:44
  Speaker 2: and the UK both do these sorts of things, and
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  Speaker 2: the pharmacists they have diagnosed, prescribed and dispense medications and
• 2:53
  Speaker 2: with you know, with awesome effects, there's very little downside
• 2:58
  Speaker 2: and it's cost effective.
• 2:59
  Speaker 1: I know that equal bodies will no doubt argue that
• 3:01
  Speaker 1: the approach downgrades the role of GPS, and some may
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  Speaker 1: even say that it's dangerous. What would you say in response.
• 3:08
  Speaker 2: To that the dangerous, that's just being mangering. Really that,
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  Speaker 2: like I said, it's been used done in It's been
• 3:17
  Speaker 2: done in Canada for quite a few years, the same
• 3:20
  Speaker 2: in the UK, and the evidence shows, the data you
• 3:23
  Speaker 2: know that we're getting is that if anything, it's as
• 3:28
  Speaker 2: safe or safer them and doctors and pharmacists are experts
• 3:31
  Speaker 2: in drugs they know the action of the drug on
• 3:34
  Speaker 2: the body, the side effects of the medications, and the
• 3:36
  Speaker 2: interactions between medications.
• 3:39
  Speaker 1: How common sorry you go, and it's.
• 3:43
  Speaker 2: Common for doctors to actually turn to pharmacists, and particularly
• 3:47
  Speaker 2: with reviews, medication management reviews or home medication reviews where
• 3:51
  Speaker 2: the pharmacist gets to look at someone with a complex
• 3:55
  Speaker 2: medication profile and find out where things might be going wrong.
• 3:58
  Speaker 2: Are there too many of the ones? How they're medications
• 4:01
  Speaker 2: working against each other and that aspect.
• 4:05
  Speaker 1: Obviously you have said that there's been meetings with the
• 4:07
  Speaker 1: Northern Territory government, being discussions with the Health Finister about this.
• 4:12
  Speaker 1: How far off do you think we are from there
• 4:14
  Speaker 1: possibly being a decision made in this space or some
• 4:17
  Speaker 1: movement in this space.
• 4:21
  Speaker 2: There's definitely processes that need to happen first, Like basically,
• 4:26
  Speaker 2: legislation has to be put in place so that it
• 4:30
  Speaker 2: is legal. Right now, it isn't legal for pharmacists to
• 4:33
  Speaker 2: diagnose and prescribe and to spend all at the same time,
• 4:37
  Speaker 2: so that needs to be changed. So that's a slow process,
• 4:41
  Speaker 2: and that needs to go before Parliament so that everyone
• 4:44
  Speaker 2: get to vote on that, and that's in Parliament, and
• 4:47
  Speaker 2: then from there you know, then they'll have a very
• 4:51
  Speaker 2: serious conversation about moving forward with the allergies, with the
• 4:54
  Speaker 2: actual program of providing you know, those twenty three common
• 5:00
  Speaker 2: conditions that can then prescribe.
• 5:02
  Speaker 1: For Well, so it does sound as well it could
• 5:04
  Speaker 1: be a little way away, but those discussions are happen, happening.
• 5:09
  Speaker 1: I know that we've already had some contact from our
• 5:11
  Speaker 1: listeners this morning saying they want this to happen. They
• 5:14
  Speaker 1: do think that it will make the process a bit
• 5:15
  Speaker 1: easier and for some people probably a bit more cost effective,
• 5:19
  Speaker 1: I would assume very much.
• 5:21
  Speaker 2: So I mean to go and see a GP. You know,
• 5:24
  Speaker 2: the Medicare rebate is there obviously, but then there's the
• 5:29
  Speaker 2: extra charge. The charge of doctors that need to charge
• 5:33
  Speaker 2: in order to make their ends. Meat can can be
• 5:36
  Speaker 2: you know, early fifty sixty dollars, and pharmacists. I think
• 5:42
  Speaker 2: it's projected to cost around twenty five to thirty dollars
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  Speaker 2: to see a pharmacist and there is no Medicare rebate
• 5:48
  Speaker 2: on that. But the Guild is working towards, you know,
• 5:51
  Speaker 2: maybe getting some kind of a rebate there to reduce
• 5:53
  Speaker 2: that cost even further.
• 5:55
  Speaker 1: Well, Peter hatswell MT President of the Pharmacy Guild. I
• 5:58
  Speaker 1: really appreciate you having your chat with me this morning.
• 6:01
  Speaker 1: Thanks so much, Thank you, Katie, thank you