About prescriber registration

All pharmacists who are providing prescribing services in Queensland are required to have a Queensland community pharmacist prescriber number. This prescriber number is issued by Queensland Health and can be used to validate the authenticity of a prescription made by an authorised pharmacist.

All community pharmacists that have met the requirements to provide a prescribing service must register to be issued a prescriber number, and their name must appear on the Queensland Community Pharmacist Prescriber Register.

Community pharmacists cannot prescribe a medicine if they have not been issued with a prescriber number and their name does not appear on the prescriber register.

More information about the prescriber registration process can be found in the Prescriber number factsheet.

Training requirements

Hormonal contraception service

Pharmacists must successfully complete a training program that includes and assesses the requirements specified in 1 and 2 below:

1. Learning objectives on anatomy and physiology as relevant to the provision of a hormonal contraception service, the physiology of reproductive hormones and contraception methods, the mechanisms of action, efficacy, and suitability of various contraceptive methods, contraceptive counselling and decision-making, patient assessment and formulation of treatment plans that are aligned with individual patient needs, preferences, medical history and cultural considerations, and the pharmacist’s scope of practice for the Hormonal Contraception Community Pharmacy Service.
2. Prescribing competencies from the current version of the National Prescribing Service ‘Prescribing Competencies Framework’ relevant to providing a comprehensive hormonal contraception service including communication, history-taking, assessment, the prescribing process, and development of a treatment and sexual health plan.

A training program comprising of both training requirements specified in 1 and 2 above must be one of:

1. a training program developed for the Queensland Community Pharmacy Hormonal Contraception Pilot
2. a training program delivered by a higher accreditation institution accredited by the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency
3. a training program delivered by a training provider that meets the Australian Pharmacy Council’s ‘Standards for Continuing Professional Development Activities’.

General health services

Pharmacists must successfully complete a training program comprising both training requirements specified in 1 and 2 below, or a training program developed for the Queensland Community Pharmacy Scope of Practice Pilot.

1. A prescribing training program accredited to meet the standards set by the Australian Pharmacy Council’s ‘Accreditation Standards for Pharmacist Prescriber Education Programs’, and
2. A clinical skills training program that includes and assesses:
   1. learning objectives on the knowledge, skills and behaviours required to provide a comprehensive health service including ethical considerations, professional responsibilities, clinical documentation and professional communication, and
   2. learning objectives on epidemiology, anatomy, physiology and pathophysiology as relevant to the provision of all health services listed below including the clinical assessment, diagnosis, therapeutic and non-therapeutic management and formulation of treatment plans that align with individual patient needs, preferences, medical history, and cultural considerations.

A training program comprising of both training requirements specified in 1 and 2 above must be a tertiary-level study program equivalent to Australian Qualifications Framework Level 8, and must be delivered through either:

1. a higher education institution that is accredited by the Tertiary Education Quality Standards Agency
2. an institution that is accredited by the Australian Skills Quality Authority.

Health services that must be included within the training program:

• acute exacerbations of mild plaque psoriasis
• acute nausea and vomiting associated with gastroenteritis
• acute minor wound management
• acute otitis externa
• acute otitis media
• allergic and nonallergic rhinitis
• gastro-oesophageal reflux and gastro-oesophageal reflux disease
• impetigo
• management for overweight and obesity
• mild to moderate acne
• mild to moderate atopic dermatitis
• mild, acute, musculoskeletal pain
• shingles
• treatment of nicotine dependence
• travel health.

Chronic conditions management pilot services

An approved training program is a course delivered through an education institution accredited by the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency or the Australian Skills Quality Authority, comprising 2 components: a prescribing training component and a clinical training component.

Prescribing training component—covering the knowledge, skills and behaviours set out in the National Prescribing Service (NPS) Medicinewise Prescribing Competencies Framework 2nd edition. Assessment must include the essential competencies of clinical therapeutics, safe prescribing and quality use of medicines.

1. The prescribing training component must include an appropriate work-integrated learning and supervised practice component. The participating pharmacist must be supervised by an authorised prescriber for this element.
2. The current approved prescribing training component programs are:
   1. The Queensland University of Technology Safe prescribing and quality use of medicines course.
   2. The James Cook University Extended community practice for pharmacists course (subject code PC6300).
   3. The Pharmaceutical Society of Australia Pharmacist prescribing scope of practice training program.

Clinical training component—covering clinical assessment, diagnosis and management of the conditions included within the scope of the Pilot. Assessment must include the essential competencies in the steps leading to accurate diagnosis and management of the Pilot services namely communication, history, examination, diagnosis and treatment.

3. The clinical training component must include an appropriate face to face practical skills component.
4. The current approved clinical training component programs are:
   1. The James Cook University Extended community practice for pharmacists course (subject codes PC6100 and PC6200).
   2. The Pharmaceutical Society of Australia Pharmacist prescribing scope of practice training program.

The approved training program can be an integrated study program including both the prescribing and clinical training components or may be separate study programs that provide these two components. Separate study programs may be delivered by the same or different providers.