New credentialing requirements announced as pharmacists prepare to take on aged care roles. The federal Department of Health and Aged Care has announced that pharmacists will need an Aged Care credential to become an aged care on-site pharmacist. Those who want to provide medication reviews such as Residential Medication Management Reviews and/or Home Medicine Reviews reviews will also need to complete a Medication Management Review (MMR). Kerri Barwick, PSA General Manager of Education and Training at PSA, explains what that involves. What’s the difference between accredited and credenti ..read more

Pharmacists encounter pregnant and new mums more often than most health professionals, and can have a bird’s-eye view when things go awry. At 20 weeks pregnant, PSA’s Queensland Pharmacist of the Year Jacqueline Meyer MPS, was diagnosed with intrauterine growth restriction, which severely impacted her fetal growth. A few weeks later, she stopped working – effective immediately. ‘I was put on immediate bed rest, even though I felt fine,’ she says. With her amniotic fluid diminished, Ms Meyer’s daughter, Fallon, was born at 28 weeks. Weighing only 520 grams, Fallon was placed in a ..read more

Nitazenes are becoming more common in the Australian illicit drug market, and are linked to an increasing number of overdoses and deaths. Last week, nitazines were detected in samples related to a cluster of 20 overdoses in the New South Wales Nepean Blue Mountains local health district. There have been 16 overdose deaths involving nitazenes in Victoria since 2021, prompting two coroners to recommend the implementation of drug checking services in the state. Suzanne Nielsen MPS Professor Suzanne Nielsen MPS, Deputy Director of the Monash Addiction Research Centre in Melbourne, explains how thi ..read more

Queenslanders are set to have greater access to high-quality, primary healthcare services from today (24 April 2024) under the state government’s Community Pharmacy Scope of Practice Pilot. Under the Pilot, trained pharmacists will be able to prescribe for a range of common conditions and better support patients with medication management through therapeutic adaptation and substitution, and continued dispensing. PSA Queensland President Shane MacDonald welcomed Health Minister Shannon Fentiman’s announcement today in Cairns.​ ‘The 2020 election commitment to work with PSA, the Pharmacy Guild o ..read more

We’ve passed the halfway mark in the CPD year. Top up your credits and develop the most sought-after pharmacy skills by completing these CPD activities. In a changing social and healthcare landscape – including fears around opioid overdoses, the rise of injectable medicines and new treatments for chronic pain – pharmacists need to keep on top of trends and education to best serve their communities. AP outlines the most clicked-on CPD articles over the last 12 months and why you should complete them – along with a few other ways to score credits before the CPD year ends. 1. Disposal of Schedule ..read more

Influenza is one of the most common vaccine-preventable diseases in Australia. While reported cases are significantly higher than what they were this time last year, vaccination rates are slipping. There were 30,404 reported cases of influenza from January–March this year, compared to 18,584 during the same time period last year. With 39,230 cases reported to date in 2024, there has been a significant spike in cases over the last few weeks. As we approach World Immunisation Week (24–30 April 2024), here’s how pharmacists can help to protect the community this season.  Children are un ..read more

Squadron Leader Michael Whitney MPS, an avid traveller on and off duty, tells AP about his career path in the Defence Force. Why choose pharmacy? I’ve always been interested in helping people and performed well in science and maths subjects at school. When the time came to participate in Year 10 work experience, my sister – a nurse – suggested pharmacy. After a week-long stint in my local community pharmacy, which morphed into an after-school job, I was hooked. The rest is history! What led you to the military? Without any background in Defence, I only became aware you could join the Australia ..read more

Oxycodone is the most prescribed strong opioid in Australia. Yet little was known about its use and prescribing patterns – until now. Marketing and prescribing of oxycodone fuelled the opioid epidemic in the United States, still raging almost 30 years after the drug was first introduced. To understand the previously unmapped associations between Australia’s oxycodone use and sociodemographic factors, UNSW researchers from the Medicines Intelligence Centre of Research Excellence and the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre (NDARC) analysed linked data from 800,000 patients on PBS medicines ..read more

The PSA recognised outstanding pharmacists at its 2024 South Australia and Northern Territory Excellence Awards in Adelaide over the weekend. The Excellence Awards recognise local pharmacists involved in innovative practice, those who are striving to raise practice standards, and those who, through their professionalism, provide a model of practice which others seek to emulate. PSA SA/NT President Dr Manya Angley FPS congratulated the award recipients. ‘The passion and dedication of pharmacists across South Australia and the Northern Territory is clear. It’s our pleasure to recognise some of t ..read more

Measles cases are skyrocketing worldwide. Despite being declared ‘measles free’ since 2014, more than 28 cases of measles have been recorded in Australia this year, including recent alerts in Sydney and South Australia.  This is more than the number of cases recorded in 2023 all together. Is this just a reality of more overseas-acquired cases following increases in overseas travel, or is Australia’s measles-free status at risk? Professor Margie Danchin, group leader of the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute’s Vaccine Uptake Group, shares seven things pharmacists need to know about meas ..read more