Tue 6 August 2024
SHPA supports recognition, collaboration and advancement in Pharmacists in 2030 report
Hospital pharmacists today welcomed the Pharmacists in 2030 report, launched by the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia (PSA) last week at PSA24, citing the growth of pharmacy specialisation and advancement, promotion of collaborative care teams and enhanced recognition of practitioners as key areas of support and investment from the Society of Hospital Pharmacists of Australia (SHPA).
SHPA President Tom Simpson FANZCAP (Lead&Mgmt) says Pharmacists in 2030 recognises urgent issues facing the profession and its practitioners, while identifying actionable solutions, many of which echo the initiatives of SHPA’s Transformation 2024 agenda.
‘We are pleased to see PSA reiterate the importance of pharmacy recognition, as SHPA prepares to mark one year of the Australian and New Zealand College of Advanced Pharmacy (ANZCAP), a remarkably successful program that has recognised the skills and experience of thousands of pharmacists in its inaugural year.
‘Hospital pharmacists are also very much embedded in collaborative settings, helping to alleviate pressures on our medical colleagues by working to their full scope of practice through models such as such as Partnered Pharmacist Medication Charting (PPMC).
‘This model, first piloted in 2012 and now being progressively implemented in all states and territories, is a big step forward for pharmacist-led collaborative care in Australia, proving to be ten times safer for patients, who spend 10% less time in hospital as a result.
‘We also strongly agree on the need to grow our technician workforce – advancing pharmacy means advancing the whole profession. SHPA members recently voted to introduce an elected Technician Board Director to ensure direct advocacy and advice, and our comprehensive update to the SHPA Standards of Practice for Clinical Pharmacy Services released later this year further embeds the role of pharmacy technicians as essential in the delivery of contemporary patient care.’
Mr Simpson says Pharmacists in 2030 serves as a complementary framework for SHPA’s upcoming Statement on Advanced Pharmacy and strategic plan, to guide the growing impact of the profession on medicines safety and patient care.
‘We absolutely recognise the need to update the definition of advanced practice in Australia. This has been a focus of SHPA in recent years, including in recent widespread consultation among our members and the broader industry. We are pleased to say this work has culminated in the Statement on Advanced Pharmacy which will be released this month.
‘This Statement on Advanced Pharmacy does not look years ahead, it will build on what we are already doing today.
‘This is the power of complementary pharmacy organisations in Australia. As the home of advanced pharmacy, we look forward to ensuring voices from across our profession and broader healthcare work together to ensure better care for all Australians.’