CATHOLIC Health Australia (CHA), the nation’s largest non-government, not-for-profit group of health, community and aged care providers, has called on the Federal Government to expand the roles of pharmacists, care workers, nurses, and other allied health professionals to improve the productivity and quality of healthcare.

In its submission to the Economic Reform Roundtable, taking place from 19 to 21 Aug in Canberra, CHA argues that the current health system is being “hamstrung by rigid scope of practice rules” that waste the skills of these highly qualified health workers.

“Australian nurses, care workers, pharmacists, and allied health professionals are some of the most highly trained in the world, yet too many are stuck doing paperwork or barred from performing tasks they’re perfectly qualified to do, due to outdated professional boundaries,” said Dr Katharine Bassett, Director of Health Policy.

“Governments must fix outdated legislation and restrictive funding rules so these workers can do much more to manage chronic conditions, support prevention, and ease the pressure on stretched hospitals,” she said.

The submission calls for immediate reforms to expand prescribing, referral, diagnostics, and care coordination rights for qualified non-medical professionals, alongside the development of a National Skills and Capability Framework to clarify and support team-based models of care.

“These are not radical ideas – other countries have done this and Australia is falling behind,” Dr Bassett said.

“Every hour a nurse or allied health professional is prevented from working at their full scope is an hour stolen from patient care,” she added.

The Economic Reform Roundtable aims to build consensus on ways to improve productivity, enhance economic resilience and strengthen budget sustainability. KB

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