Two leading organisations advocating for rural and remote doctors and communities have combined to callout the Queensland Government’s decision to make pharmacist prescribing for some conditions standard practice.
The Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine (ACRRM) and Rural Doctors Association of Queensland (RDAQ) are concerned about the impacts on patient health outcomes and access to healthcare.
Queensland Minister for Health and Ambulance Services The Hon Tim Nicholls MP announced on Friday that prescribing for acute conditions, wellbeing, and hormonal contraception services, which have been trialled through the Queensland Community Pharmacy Pilots, will become business as usual from 1 July.
ACRRM President Dr Rod Martin said both organisations were particularly concerned about the implications for rural, remote and First Nations communities, where health outcomes were already significantly poorer.
“We acknowledge pharmacists play an important role in rural and remote communities, where all health professionals operate within a broad but safe scope of practice, but this decision sets a risky precedent,” Dr Martin said.
“The strategy limits the program to retail-based pharmacists and does not address access for rural and remote communities where there are widespread workforce shortages across all health professions. It is a commercially driven policy and does not offer relief of costs or access to communities who need it most,” he said.
People living in rural and remote areas experience higher rates of chronic disease, avoidable hospitalisations, and a 40% higher burden of disease than those in major cities.