About the pilots

Queensland Health is facilitating the delivery of two community pharmacy pilots.

The aim of both pilots is to improve access to high-quality primary healthcare services for Queenslanders, particularly for those in regional and rural communities.

Pharmacists are highly qualified and trusted members of our healthcare teams. Providing pharmacists with additional clinical training and supporting them to practice to their full scope will enable them to further help and support their local communities.

On this page

Background

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 communities.

The Queensland Government has a current election commitment to work with the Pharmacy Guild of Australia, the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia, and other stakeholders to design and implement a pilot of pharmacists practicing to their full scope in North Queensland.

On 25 September 2023 the Minister for Health, Mental Health and Ambulance Services and Minister for Women announced the expansion of the pilot to the entire state to improve healthcare access for all Queenslanders, regardless of where they live. The Queensland Community Pharmacy Scope of Practice Pilot officially launched on 24 April 2024 and will continue until 30 June 2026.

On 21 March 2024 the Minister for Health, Mental Health and Ambulance Services and Minister for Women announced the establishment of a separate training pathway for pharmacists to prescribe medication for hormonal contraception under a new Queensland Community Pharmacy Hormonal Contraception Pilot. Establishing a separate pilot enabled access to these services to be fast-tracked for women and girls across Queensland. This pilot officially launched on 7 August 2024 and will continue until 30 June 2025.

The pilots will be formally evaluated to determine how an expanded role for community pharmacists can assist to increase access to high-quality primary healthcare for Queensland communities. The department has engaged Deloitte to undertake a comprehensive service evaluation of both pilots, aligned to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare dimensions of system performance: accessibility, continuity, effectiveness, efficiency and sustainability, appropriateness and safety.

Queensland Community Pharmacy Scope of Practice Pilot

The pilot's scope has been determined following extensive research, planning, and consultation with key stakeholders, including consumer representative groups, and peak medical and pharmacy organisations.

The pilot enables participating pharmacists to undertake additional medicines management and prescribing activities, including:

  • Medication management—therapeutic adaptation and substitution and continued dispensing
  • Autonomous prescribing for specified acute conditions and health and wellbeing services:
    • Gastro-oesophageal reflux and gastro-oesophageal reflux disease
    • Acute nausea and vomiting
    • Allergic and nonallergic rhinitis
    • Impetigo
    • Herpes zoster (shingles)
    • Mild to moderate atopic dermatitis
    • Acute exacerbations of mild plaque psoriasis
    • Mild to moderate acne
    • Acute wound management
    • Acute diffuse otitis externa
    • Acute otitis media
    • Acute mild musculoskeletal pain and inflammation
    • Smoking cessation
    • Oral health screening and fluoride application
    • Travel health
    • Management of overweight and obesity
  • Protocol/structured prescribing as part of a chronic disease management program:
    • Cardiovascular Disease Risk Reduction Program for type 2 diabetes, hypertension and dyslipidaemia
    • Improved Asthma (and exercise-induced bronchoconstriction) Symptom Program
    • Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) Monitoring Program

Queensland Community Pharmacy Hormonal Contraception Pilot

The Senate report Ending the postcode lottery: Addressing barriers to sexual, maternity and reproductive healthcare in Australia, found that two in three Australian women between the ages of 18 and 44 years use some form of contraception, with 83% having used contraception at some point in their lives.

Access to contraception can be a challenge for women across Queensland with ongoing challenges around access to primary healthcare services.

This pilot enables participating pharmacists to autonomously prescribe hormonal contraception services, for women and girls aged 16 years and older.

Contraceptives that can be accessed as part of the pilot including:

  • Oral medications—the combined oral contraceptive pill (excluding those with high estrogen dose) and the progesterone-only pill
  • Injected medication—depot medroxyprogesterone acetate
  • Contraceptive device—the combined hormonal contraceptive vaginal ring

Are pharmacists qualified to provide the extra services?

Pharmacists are highly qualified health professionals. Most pharmacists in Australia have successfully completed a 4-year university degree, followed by a 1-year supervised internship. Once registered with the Pharmacy Board of Australia, pharmacists commit to ongoing professional development each year, ensuring they maintain current knowledge and skills.

Participating pharmacists have completed additional training to ensure they are able to safely manage the conditions included. This includes completion of prescribing training and clinical practice training, delivered by accredited education providers.

Last updated: 7 August 2024