PSA Calls for the removal of vaccination red tape
20 August 2024
The Pharmaceutical Society of Australia (PSA) is calling for the removal of vaccination red tape and for national harmonisation of pharmacist vaccination scope to ensure all Australians have equitable access to vaccination services.
The Australian Immunisation Handbook serves as the national vaccination formulary. Pharmacists, along with all Australian healthcare professionals who are immunisers, should adopt this as the national standard for defining vaccine formularies, instead of relying on complex regulatory instruments unique to each state and territory.
Regardless of location, everyone should have access to the same vaccine formulary at their community pharmacy. Vaccines should be as accessible as possible to those who need them most, at a time and place of their choosing.
Reducing barriers to vaccination uptake should be a priority to improve equity and access to the health care system. Australians are increasingly turning to pharmacists for vaccinations. Empowering pharmacists to provide this essential service, in a consistent manner across jurisdictions, will be key to reaching the immunisation target in Australia.
The approval of a vaccine to protect Australians against the highly infectious respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is a valuable addition to the vaccines available in community pharmacies. Residents of South Australia, Western Australia, and the Northern Territory would welcome the availability of the RSV vaccine at their local pharmacies, as is the case in other all jurisdictions across the country.
Pharmacists in 2030 is the PSA’s vision for the future of the pharmacy profession and outlines a road map demonstrating how pharmacists can reach their full potential over the next 6 years, ultimately improving quality use of medicines and medicines stewardship and Australians’ access to care in an equitable, consistent and sustainable manner. Removing regulations that prevent pharmacists from administering all vaccines to all at risk Australians would be a crucial first step towards realising this vision.
Quotes attributed to PSA National President, Associate Professor Fei Sim
“Pharmacists are underutilised in many states and territories, with regulatory barriers preventing them from practising to their full potential when providing vaccination services.”
“Pharmacists have demonstrated competency in delivering vaccines safely and effectively. Leveraging the accessibility of pharmacists to administer a greater range of vaccines would significantly improve uptake and reduce hospitalisations from vaccine preventable diseases.”
“Allowing pharmacists to deliver childhood vaccinations, including influenza vaccines, provides Australians with greater choice and equitable access to vaccines.”
“Allowing pharmacists to practise to the top of their scope makes efficient use of health resources, benefitting the broader health system.”
“With the Continuing Professional Development cycle for pharmacists ending on 30 September, I encourage all pharmacist immunisers to visit PSA Vaccination Education Hub to help you meet your professional requirements and maintain competence in vaccination services.”
“PSA offers a variety of immunisation educational resources for pharmacists, including the Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) module and the Vaccination Webinar Series. The next webinar in this series focuses on promoting pharmacy vaccination services, particularly for adolescents who missed HPV (Human Papillomavirus) vaccination due to COVID lockdowns.”
Pharmacists in 2030 is available to pharmacists and the public at www.psa.org.au/pharmacists_in_2030
