Chaired by Professor Michael Dooley, the Hospital Pharmacy Practice CSI is also led by:
Choi-Ling Batten
Choi Batten is the National Pharmacy Manager at Healthscope, Australia’s second-largest private hospital provider. There, she oversees the strategic direction, operational performance, and clinical governance of pharmacy services across 38 hospitals. With over 20 years of experience in pharmacy—over half of which have been in leadership roles within Australian private hospitals—Choi has dedicated herself to delivering high-quality patient care, driving operational efficiencies, and implementing innovative solutions to enhance healthcare outcomes.
Choi has been an active member of local hospital and national Antimicrobial Stewardship committees, Medication Safety committees, and Clinical Care Standard working groups, where she has contributed to improving safety and quality across healthcare settings. Her qualifications include a Master of Health Service Management and a Diploma of Management, and she is also a certified change practitioner.
A passionate advocate for the advancement of pharmacy within the healthcare system, Choi actively contributes to the education and professional development of pharmacists. She serves as a Pharmacy Board Examiner for the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (Ahpra), and as a Clinical Lecturer at the University of Tasmania.
Professor Ian Coombes
Dr Ian Coombes is the Director of Pharmacy at RBWH overseeing 160 staff and striving to optimise his departments’ delivery of pharmaceutical care and collaboratively improve the safety and quality of medicine focused, patient centred. Ian is also an Academic Professor School of Pharmacy, University of Queensland. He is past vice president of SHPA, inaugural board member of APC and lead the Advanced practice Credentialing program for APC and then SHPA. After basic training in the NHS UK and his PhD at UQ investigating systems and education interventions to reduce prescribing errors, he continues to undertake research, supervise, students and publish in the areas of workforce development and expanded models of collaborate pharmacy practice. Ian is passionate about and has in a small way has had a small impact on developing a pharmacy workforce fit for purpose both in Australia and Sri Lanka through his leadership of the volunteer collaborative delivering education and training and supporting research with CASPPER.
Lauren Fraser
Lauren Fraser is a dedicated pharmacist and researcher embedded within the Rheumatology Outpatients Unit at both the Royal Adelaide Hospital and the Queen Elizabeth Hospital. Her work focuses on enhancing the quality use of medicines through innovative approaches, including pharmacist-led deprescribing of long-term corticosteroids, optimizing adherence to DMARDs, and utilising novel mass spectrometry-based assays for corticosteroids and methotrexate.
In addition to her hospital-based work, Lauren remains actively involved in community pharmacy and has participated in the SA Government’s Post Discharge Medicines Service initiative. This program supports patients with complex medication needs following hospital discharge, aiming to improve outcomes and reduce avoidable readmissions. Lauren also has experience in academics, tutoring pharmacy students and is currently completing her PhD.
Hannah Knowles
Hannah is a highly engaged pharmacist with a passion for advancing the pharmacy profession through leadership, education, and workforce development. Currently a Drug Use Evaluation (DUE) Pharmacist at Redcliffe Hospital, Hannah has worked across diverse roles, including Emergency Pharmacist, Clinical Educator, University Conjoint, providing her with a well-rounded understanding of healthcare systems.
A strong advocate for education, Hannah has experience overseeing intern and residency programs, mentoring early career pharmacists and fostering a culture of learning and innovation. Her international contributions include working with CASPPER to facilitate the development of a clinical pharmacy workforce in Sri Lanka and working as PSA’s liaison with the International Pharmaceutical Federation’s Young Pharmacist Group.
Hannah is Vice President of the PSA QLD Branch Committee and has previously worked on the Professional Practice Standards. Her work has been recognized through multiple accolades, including being named QLD Early Career Pharmacist of the Year in 2022 by both PSA & SHPA.
Associate Professor Sue Kirsa
Sue Kirsa is the Director of Pharmacy at Monash Health, a large metropolitan healthservice located in the South-east of Melbourne comprising 7 hospitals and over 40 Community Health sites. The Pharmacy at Monash employs over 450 pharmacists and Interns and over 120 pharmacy technicians. Sue’s career as a pharmacist has been focussed in hospitals having worked at the Queen Victoria Medical Centre, Monash Medical Centre, Austin Health, the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre and Monash Health. She spent some time working in Community Pharmacy in the 1980’s. Sue is a former President of the Society of Hospital Pharmacists of Australia, the immediate past Chair of the Board of the Australian Pharmacy Council and has been involved in a range of Pharmacy and Government Boards and Committees over her career. She currently sits on the Board of HealthShare Victoria and the Management Committee of the Victorian Therapeutics Advisory Group (VicTAG). Sue’s professional interests include Medication Safety, Antimicrobial Stewardship, Pharmacy Leadership and Oncology/haematology pharmacy practice. Sue is married to David and has two adult children, Jeremy and Jess and a labradoodle dog named Loki.
Richard Marotti
Richard Marotti is the Executive Director of SA Pharmacy which provides pharmacy services to 21 of South Australia’s public metropolitan and regional hospitals with on-site pharmacy departments and 50 associated regional and remote sites across South Australia. Early on in his career Richard worked as a pharmacist in the Royal Australian Air Force, which included a deployment to East Timor in 2006 as part of Operation ASTUTE. Richard has interests in medicines governance, medication safety and pharmacy automation as well expanding the scope of the pharmacy workforce.
Professor Lisa Nissen
Professor Lisa Nissen is Director and Taylor Family Chair, Centre for Business and Economics of Health, University of Queensland. She has been a health practitioner, leader, educator, researcher, and implementation scientist in Australia for more than 30 years. Lisa’s research has led to major health system change, including the introduction of immunisation services by pharmacists throughout Australia and implementation of prescribing and advanced practice competencies and frameworks for health professionals nationally. More recently she led a Queensland team who implemented pharmacists’ treatment for Uncomplicated urinary Tract Infections. Her focus is on health service optimisation including scope of practice and Quality Use of Medicines. She currently leads a program of research focused on Health Workforce Optimisation . She is a Fellow of the both the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia and the Society of Hospital Pharmacists of Australia.
Prasin Rodrigues
Prasin has a range of experience in general hospital wards as well as having spent the last 2 years working as a cancer care pharmacist working closely with consultants and most recently been aseptically manufacturing chemotherapy products. Prasin has a background from working in rural NSW for the start of her career in both community and hospital settings. Prasin has also worked as an academic at the University of New England, lecturing in pharmacy practice as well as running compounding practical sessions. Prasin is currently working at Concord Repatriation General Hospital as a rotational pharmacist.
Associate Professor Bhavini Patel
