National Medicines Symposium 2024 speakers (L to R): Steve Waller, Professor Jennifer Martin, Professor Libby Roughead, Tegan Taylor[/caption]
This CPD activity is sponsored by Reckitt. All content is the true, accurate and independent opinion of the speakers and the views expressed are entirely their own.[/caption]
Draft email
Dear Mr/Ms XXX,
We know our health system has faced immense pressure over recent years. Pharmacists are too often overlooked and undervalued, despite the crucial role they play in the health of our community.
Not only have pharmacies remained open when many other health providers have closed their doors, pharmacists have faced huge challenges – including administering vaccinations, Rapid Antigen Test shortages, medicine supply shortages, workforce shortages due to isolation requirements, and increasing incidence of violent and abusive behaviour from patients.
These conditions are all contributing factors to the current workforce shortages, and the rate in which pharmacists are leaving the profession. A crisis is looming, particularly as pharmacists continue to be significantly underpaid for their services.
Adding insult to injury, is the fact that pharmacists are so often paid less than other healthcare providers, for providing the exact same services.
One example of this is Multidisciplinary Case Conferencing, where General Practitioners coordinate a team of allied health, home and community service providers to ensure their patient’s care needs are being met through a planned and coordinated approach. Despite playing a key role in medicine safety, pharmacists remain the only allied health provider who are not remunerated for their participation in case conferences.
The current COVID-19 vaccination program is another example of pharmacists being paid less for the same service. GPs receive twice as much as pharmacists for administering first doses, and almost $10 more for each second or subsequent dose. If all three doses are provided by the same practitioner, in a major city a pharmacist would receive $68, whilst a GP would receive $139.05.
Pharmacists deserve the same pay as other healthcare providers for doing the same work. Please address the unfair and inequitable pay disparities between pharmacists and other healthcare providers, and ensure pharmacists receive equal remuneration for administering COVID-19 vaccines.
Please support a better deal for pharmacists! Failure to fairly remunerate pharmacists will have dire consequences for Australia’s healthcare system.
Kind Regards etc
Draft phone script
Hello, my name is (your name) and I am calling (their name) to ask them to support better pay for pharmacists.
Our health system has faced immense pressure over recent years – and despite the role they’ve played through the pandemic, pharmacists continue to be overlooked and undervalued.
We’ve remained open when many other health providers have closed their doors. Our workload has increased massively with vaccinations and the distribution of Rapid Antigen Tests.
We continue to face other challenges like medicine supply shortages, workforce shortages due to isolation requirements, and increasing incidence of violent and abusive behaviour from patients.
Too many people are leaving pharmacy as a result of these pressures and poor remuneration – as we are so often paid less than other healthcare providers, for providing the exact same services.
Pharmacists deserve the same pay as other healthcare providers for doing the same work. I ask that you please support a better deal for pharmacists, to ensure the sustainability of Australia’s pharmacist workforce.
Thank you for your time.
