What transpired at the inaugural GP-Pharmacists Symposium?

The PSA hosted the General Practice Pharmacists Symposium in Melbourne on Friday 28 March, bringing leading voices and over 100 delegates together to explore the evolving role of pharmacists in general practice.

It is the first General Practice Pharmacists Symposium hosted by PSA, following 2 years delivered by the WentWest PHN in New South Wales.

As part of the symposium, PSA hosted a panel discussion featuring leaders from key pharmacy and medical groups including PSA’s Consultant Pharmacist Advisor Debbie Rigby FPS and representatives from the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) and Australian Medical Association (AMA) – facilitating constructive dialogue about the evolving role of pharmacists in general practice and the benefits of collaborative multidisciplinary models of care.

PSA National President Associate Professor Fei Sim FPS reiterated PSA’s commitment to medicine safety and workforce support.

‘We know that each year 250,000 Australians are admitted to hospitals due to medication-related problems, which is only set to rise with the growing prevalence of chronic health conditions,’ she said.

‘We must support our health care system to meet this demand by investing in multidisciplinary care now, supporting general practitioners to grow their teams and foster greater pharmacist-GP collaboration to achieve true patient-centred care.

Pharmacists can make irreplaceable invaluable contribution in and within the general practice team. 

‘Investing in isolated funding for QUM and medicine safety will directly benefit our health system and most importantly improve patient care,’ A/Prof Sim said.

‘The work that we’re doing today is building on more than 13 years of PSA advocacy for general practice pharmacists, from establishing pilot projects with primary health networks to embed pharmacists in general practices around the country to developing best practice frameworks to support the work pharmacists do as part of multidisciplinary teams.’

A/Prof Sim also pointed to PSA’s election platform advocacy, which calls for the doubling of the Workforce Incentive Program (WIP) to properly fund general practice pharmacists into the future.

‘This election, PSA is fighting for long-term, sustainable funding to encourage general practices to embed pharmacists into their teams, properly funding pharmacist roles through the Workforce Incentive Program,’ she said.

‘I once again wish to thank WentWest PHN for their leadership in establishing the Pharmacist in General Practice National Symposium in 2022, a legacy which PSA is proud to carry on.’