Page 9 - Submission to the 2015-16 Federal Budget

Demonstrated benefits
A recent systematic review indicated co‐location of pharmacists in general practice clinics resulted in interventions which significantly improved blood pressure, glycosylated haemoglobin (diabetes), cholesterol, osteoporosis management and cardiovascular risk.71 Patient consultations resulted in significant reductions in medication‐related problems and improvements in medication adherence.72
Co‐location also enabled greater communication, collaboration and relationship building among the health professionals.73,74 Unsurprisingly, there was a significantly higher rate of uptake of a practice pharmacist medication review recommendations by the GP.75
GP‐based practice pharmacists in the UK have been said to “contribute hugely to patient care
and support the medicines optimisation agenda. Patient empowerment is enabled and patients have a forum whereby complex medicines-related queries can be answered, thus supporting adherence and improvement in health outcomes.”76
Moreover, the 2010 UK PINCER and PRACtICE studies77,78 found that pharmacists play a critical role in reducing medicine errors in general practice.
Integrating pharmacists in general practice not only helps to ensure the best outcome in terms
of minimising potential adverse effects, but also achieves more cost‐effective prescribing, with cost savings shown from $44‐$101/patient.79,80
Therefore in addition to positively contributing to the Government’s QUM objectives, this initiative will contribute to a more sustainable PBS. Furthermore, it will minimise upward pressure on the PBS patient co‐payment, improving the future access and affordability for Australians.
The integration of pharmacists in GP practices needs to be afforded a priority by the Australian Government in its attempts to build a more effective primary care system.
Box 3. To be eligible for the proposed PhIP, a practice must:
• be accredited or registered against the RACGP Standards for general practice
• maintain practice accreditation
• have public liability insurance and GPs must have professional indemnity cover
• employ or retain services of a GP
• employ or retain services of a registered pharmacist/s
Integratingpharmacistsintoprimarycareteams I©PharmaceuticalSocietyofAustraliaLtd. 9