THE Australian Pharmacy Council (APC) has welcomed the Pharmacy Board’s announcement to establish an endorsement for scheduled medicines that will standardise the qualifications required by pharmacists who prescribe (PD 18 Sep).

APC Chief Executive Officer Bronwyn Clark (pictured) described the initiative as a “milestone for increasing accessibility for consumers and advancing workforce capability while emphasising the importance of safety in prescribing practices”.

“APC’s role is to protect public safety, and this endorsement helps ensure pharmacists who prescribe certain medicines have consistent, nationally recognised qualifications, while still following the rules set by each state and territory,” Clark said.

Speaking of the review of the Standards for Pharmacist Prescriber programs recently commenced by the Council (PD 11 Sep), Clark noted that accreditation standards are critical for ensuring safe and effective prescribing practices, and national consistency in pharmacist prescribing will be underpinned by this work.

“We look forward to working with the Pharmacy Board and other stakeholders to ensure the standards reflect safe contemporary practice, support high standards in education and training, and ultimately improve access to healthcare for patients,” she concluded. KB

The post APC supports endorsement appeared first on Pharmacy Daily.