The new National Strategic Action Plan for Pain Management offers plenty of opportunities for pharmacists to work to their full scope of practice. The Action Plan was developed by Painaustralia with federal government funding and proposed eight key goals in...

A substantial jump in Western Australia’s (WA) influenza cases and flu-related deaths has led to a reduction in the pharmacist vaccination age to 10 to increase herd immunity. WA Minister for Health Roger Cook announced the decision last week after...

In 2016, Melissa Sheldrick experienced the unthinkable when her son Andrew died due to a medication error. Without apportioning blame, she has since worked tirelessly to implement system changes so that it doesn’t happen again. Melissa will be a...

The pharmacist’s guide to the different regulations and protocols across Australia. Opioid substitution has been recognised globally as an effective harm minimisation strategy for the treatment of opioid addiction.1 Key principles behind opioid substitution are to reduce or cease...

Identifying and managing pain in children is a vital role for pharmacists. Commonly encountered paediatric pain can be categorised as pain associated with infection (e.g. otitis media, pharyngitis and viral infections of the mouth), normative pains (e.g. colic, growing...

PSA has been working to address one of the key issues raised by its members – remuneration – and is pleased to see the increased role of pharmacists recognised with a five per cent pay rise in last week's...

Addressing the nation’s healthcare needs means increasing the role of pharmacists by granting them access to the Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS), said PSA. In its submissions to the taskforce reference groups, PSA focused on inclusion of pharmacist services on the...

The results of a study examining collaborative prescribing in Australian hospitals indicates that the practice, already successfully trialled in the US and the UK, effectively leverages the skills of pharmacists and could improve patient care outcomes in Australian hospitals. The...

The Queen’s Birthday honourees included seven pharmacists, acknowledging their diverse contributions to the profession, and speaks to pharmacy’s impact in healthcare. The pharmacists recognised represented a variety of different specialties within the profession, speaking to the diversity of ways in...

A new survey from researchers at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) has revealed changing trends in safe sex practises amongst 15–29 year olds. Experts say pharmacists could play a valuable role in supporting this cohort, particularly amongst...