The Pharmaceutical Society of Australia (PSA) welcomes commitments from both the Liberal Party and the Labor Party to provide more opportunities for our pharmacists to improve the health and wellness of Tasmanians.
Both major parties have committed to improving access to vaccinations for vulnerable Tasmanians by supporting trained pharmacist immunisers to administer vaccines in line with other jurisdictions.
Under this commitment, pharmacists will be allowed to administer vaccines under the National Immunisation Program (NIP), as is already the case in other states and territories like Victoria, the ACT, WA, and most recently NSW.
PSA Tasmania Branch President, Ella van Tienen, said that allowing pharmacists to administer vaccines will improve access for vulnerable Tasmanians.
"Tasmanian pharmacists are currently restricted from administering most other vaccines their counterparts in other jurisdictions can administer, despite vaccinating against influenza and pertussis for many years".
"Less than half of at-risk Tasmanian adults are considered to be fully vaccinated. This includes healthcare workers and those caring for our most vulnerable people in Tasmania".
"Enabling pharmacists to administer all vaccines will reduce the burden of vaccine preventable disease".
PSA also welcomes the Liberal Party's commitment to undertake a scope of practice review, to explore further opportunities for pharmacists to support the health and wellness of Tasmanians, and to ensure Tasmanian pharmacists can practice to their fullest potential.
PSA has also called on the next Tasmanian Government to commit $300,000 to fund a collaborative pharmacist-prescribing pilot in aged care facilities.
Dr van Tienen said a collaborative prescribing trial between general practitioners and pharmacists is necessary in order to reduce avoidable hospital admissions.
"98% of residents in aged-care facilities have at least one medicine related problem, and one in five unplanned hospital admissions of residents living in aged-care facilities are due to inappropriate medicine use".
"Pharmacists, with their medicines expertise, must be empowered to play a greater role in the aged care sector in order to achieve safe and best-possible use of medicines for older Tasmanians".
"The pilot project would develop the aged care collaborative prescribing framework through co-design with aged care providers, doctors, pharmacists and the Tasmanian Department of Health".
PSA continues to call on the Tasmanian Government to remove barriers to administering prescribed medicines by injection.
Amendment of Tasmania's Poisons Regulations 2018 to allow pharmacists to administer lawfully prescribed Schedule 4 and Schedule 8 medicines via injection, will improve Tasmania's management of patients with complex health conditions.
