National President, Professor Trent Twomey said Australian women would benefit from the changes enabling highly skilled nurse practitioners and endorsed midwifes to prescribe medicines with less red tape and administrative burden.
“This is an important step forward for improved health outcomes and healthcare access for women and the Guild looks forward to further reform to empower other health professionals to work to the full range of their training, expanding the scope of services on offer” Professor Twomey said.
“Early intervention by frontline healthcare professionals reduces later complications and takes pressure off other parts of the health system. We need to empower and trust our highly skilled primary healthcare providers.”
In the past year, as a result of the Guild’s leadership, every state and territory government, has expanded the role community pharmacy can play in preventing and treating everyday health conditions.
Across Australia community pharmacists can now provide treatment to women for uncomplicated urinary tract infections (UTIs). On average 1 in 2 women will suffer from a UTI in their lifetime and research shows that it is the second highest potentially preventable hospital admission.
Recent research reveals 9 in 10 Australians back pharmacists to offer more primary health care services. The data also showed high trust in pharmacists, with 82 per cent of Australians saying they have confidence in their pharmacist to provide health advice for common, non-complex conditions.
Professor Twomey continued “Increasing the services offered in other healthcare settings and improving consistency across states will make it easier for patients to access much needed healthcare and free up GPs and hospitals to focus on the most acute and complex cases.”