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Speaker 1: You know that more states are moving to give pharmacists

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Speaker 1: more scope to prescribe certain medications. Queensland has been trialing

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Speaker 1: the approach with pharmacists able to treat the likes of

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Speaker 1: urine retract infections, and New South Wales has decided to

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Speaker 1: follow suit. Now joining me on the line to tell

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Speaker 1: us a little bit more or to talk further about

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Speaker 1: this is Peter Hatswell, the NTI President of the Pharmacy Guild.

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Speaker 2: Good morning to you, Peter, Good morning Katie.

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Speaker 1: Great to have you on the show again. Is there

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Speaker 1: any progress towards pharmacists having more scope here in the

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Speaker 1: Northern Territory at this stage there is.

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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

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Speaker 2: is very enthusiastic about the idea. They've got to do

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Speaker 2: their own background work, but I think every chance that

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Speaker 2: it will move into this state as.

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Speaker 1: Well well, given the fact that more states are doing

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Speaker 1: it now, do you think that that's going to influence

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Speaker 1: the plans for here in the territory.

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Speaker 2: I think it's good. The more states that come on board,

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Speaker 2: the more likely that the Northern Territory will see it

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Speaker 2: as you know, it's working and it's proven, it's a

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Speaker 2: proven track, and so why wouldn't you. I mean, we've

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Speaker 2: Northern Territory and Darwin and everywhere around has got just

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Speaker 2: as big a problem in getting to see a GP,

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Speaker 2: and people are suffering as a result. They all they're

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Speaker 2: ending up in emergency and overwhelming the system there.

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Speaker 1: I know that aside from obviously making it easy easier

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Speaker 1: for patients, well, it's going to make it easier for

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Speaker 1: some patients with common conditions to get faster treatment. How

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Speaker 1: would this approach benefit gps do you think? I mean,

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Speaker 1: it would obviously benefit I'm assuming pharmacists in terms of

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Speaker 1: further business, but how do you reckon it would help

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Speaker 1: those GPS.

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Speaker 2: Well, the GPS have said many times, I've seen it

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Speaker 2: on TV myself that they're overwhelmed. They do, really are

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Speaker 2: struggling under the load of work that they have. Some

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Speaker 2: of haven't had a day off in weeks, and you know,

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Speaker 2: that's just no way to work. And certainly that that

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Speaker 2: would lead to the potential of of you know, missing

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Speaker 2: things or making mistakes, and we certainly don't want that

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Speaker 2: to happen. Everyone needs to have a good, safe work environment.

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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

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Speaker 2: important role in the healthcare of everybody in their station,

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Speaker 2: and and they this is going to help them be

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Speaker 2: able to focus on what they're best at and take

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Speaker 2: away the sort of nitty gritty common stuff that that

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Speaker 2: can be handled by pharmacists quite safely and you know,

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Speaker 2: without problems. And it's been proven in other countries. Canada

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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

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Speaker 2: with you know, with awesome effects, there's very little downside

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Speaker 2: and it's cost effective.

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Speaker 1: I know that equal bodies will no doubt argue that

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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.

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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

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Speaker 2: done in Canada for quite a few years, the same

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Speaker 2: in the UK, and the evidence shows, the data you

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Speaker 2: know that we're getting is that if anything, it's as

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Speaker 2: safe or safer them and doctors and pharmacists are experts

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Speaker 2: in drugs they know the action of the drug on

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Speaker 2: the body, the side effects of the medications, and the

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Speaker 2: interactions between medications.

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Speaker 1: How common sorry you go, and it's.

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Speaker 2: Common for doctors to actually turn to pharmacists, and particularly

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Speaker 2: with reviews, medication management reviews or home medication reviews where

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Speaker 2: the pharmacist gets to look at someone with a complex

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Speaker 2: medication profile and find out where things might be going wrong.

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Speaker 2: Are there too many of the ones? How they're medications

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Speaker 2: working against each other and that aspect.

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Speaker 1: Obviously you have said that there's been meetings with the

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Speaker 1: Northern Territory government, being discussions with the Health Finister about this.

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Speaker 1: How far off do you think we are from there

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Speaker 1: possibly being a decision made in this space or some

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Speaker 1: movement in this space.

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Speaker 2: There's definitely processes that need to happen first, Like basically,

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Speaker 2: legislation has to be put in place so that it

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Speaker 2: is legal. Right now, it isn't legal for pharmacists to

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Speaker 2: diagnose and prescribe and to spend all at the same time,

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Speaker 2: so that needs to be changed. So that's a slow process,

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Speaker 2: and that needs to go before Parliament so that everyone

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Speaker 2: get to vote on that, and that's in Parliament, and

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Speaker 2: then from there you know, then they'll have a very

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Speaker 2: serious conversation about moving forward with the allergies, with the

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Speaker 2: actual program of providing you know, those twenty three common

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Speaker 2: conditions that can then prescribe.

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Speaker 1: For Well, so it does sound as well it could

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Speaker 1: be a little way away, but those discussions are happen, happening.

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Speaker 1: I know that we've already had some contact from our

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Speaker 1: listeners this morning saying they want this to happen. They

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Speaker 1: do think that it will make the process a bit

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Speaker 1: easier and for some people probably a bit more cost effective,

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Speaker 1: I would assume very much.

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Speaker 2: So I mean to go and see a GP. You know,

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Speaker 2: the Medicare rebate is there obviously, but then there's the

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Speaker 2: extra charge. The charge of doctors that need to charge

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Speaker 2: in order to make their ends. Meat can can be

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Speaker 2: you know, early fifty sixty dollars, and pharmacists. I think

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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

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Speaker 2: on that. But the Guild is working towards, you know,

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Speaker 2: maybe getting some kind of a rebate there to reduce

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Speaker 2: that cost even further.

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Speaker 1: Well, Peter hatswell MT President of the Pharmacy Guild. I

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Speaker 1: really appreciate you having your chat with me this morning.

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Speaker 1: Thanks so much, Thank you, Katie, thank you