North Queensland Community Pharmacy Scope of Practice Pilot
The Queensland Government has a current election comment to work with the Pharmacy Guild of Australia, the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia, and other stakeholders to design and implement a trial of pharmacists practicing to their full scope in North Queensland. The North Queensland Community Pharmacy Scope of Practice Pilot (the Pilot) will evaluate how an expanded role for community pharmacists can assist to increase access to high-quality primary health care for North Queensland communities.
The Australian Government Productivity Commission and the Queensland Government report Unleashing the potential: an open and equitable health system, identified that using pharmacists and other health professionals to their full scope of practice is an efficient and effective way to improve access to healthcare delivery and lessen the impacts of workforce shortages and distribution problems, particularly in regional and rural communities1.
The scope of the Pilot has been determined following extensive research, planning, and consultation with key stakeholders, including consumer representative groups, and peak medical and pharmacy organisations.
The Pilot is proposed to commence in the latter half of 2023 running through to May 2025.
Information for consumers will be available closer to the Pilot start date.
Expressions of interest for pharmacists and pharmacies have now closed.
1. Queensland Health, 2020. Unleashing the potential: an open and equitable health system – Final report [cited 2022 May 4]. Available from: https://www.health.qld.gov.au/system-governance/strategic-direction/plans/unleashing-the-potential-an-open-and-equitable-health-system.
