Pharmacy Board of Australia - December 2024
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December 2024

Issue 43 - December 2024

From the Chair

Image of Cameron PhillipsWelcome to our last newsletter for 2024 and my first as Chair of the Board.

Health ministers have announced the appointment of new members to the Board and I look forward to working with them in 2025 and beyond.

I also want to acknowledge the contributions of the outgoing Board members. I have had the pleasure of working with the departing Chair Brett Simmonds and Board members Mark Kirschbaum, Elise Apolloni, Alice Gilbert, Amy Page and Rodney Wellington over the past years. I want to thank all departing Board members for their unwavering commitment to protecting the public during their terms.

Registration renewal for pharmacists with general and non-practising registration closed on 30 November and the late renewal period will end on 31 December 2024. Anyone who does not renew by this date will have their name removed from the register. If you have not yet renewed, we urge you to do so.

I wish you all a safe and happy festive season and all the best for 2025.

Cameron Phillips
Chair, Pharmacy Board of Australia

Priority news

Haven’t renewed your registration yet? The late period closes on 31 December

Pharmacists have until 31 December 2024 to renew their general or non-practising registration. Late fees apply. If you don’t renew by 31 December your registration will lapse, your name will be removed from the national register and you won’t be able to use the protected title for the profession.

Your reminder email from Ahpra contains your link to online renewal.

You can read the renewal FAQs on the Ahpra website for tips on logging in and for more information about renewal.

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Board news

Revised Guidelines on compounding of medicines are in effect

The revised Guidelines on compounding of medicines came into effect on 1 October 2024, after being published in August.

They provide guidance to the profession on safe practice when compounding medicines.

Some of the changes to the guidelines were highlighted by the Board in August.

Since advance publication of the revised guidelines on 5 August 2024, the Board has made additional minor amendments for clarity in the guidance and information on compounding medicines for animal use. These are stated in:

  • Guideline 5.2 Quantity to be supplied
  • Guideline 10 Packaging and labelling requirements.

There is also a minor change to 'Note 2' on page 5 of the guidelines acknowledging the NSW-specific arrangements for pharmacy premises regulation.

We encourage pharmacists to view the revised guidelines and updated FAQs. Submissions made during the consultation on the revised guidelines as well as a consultation report have been published on the Past consultations webpage.

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Latest workforce data released

The Board’s latest quarterly registration data report covers the period to 30 September 2024. At this date there were 39,144 registered pharmacists, including:

  • 33,976 with general registration
  • 3,638 with provisional registration
  • 44 with limited registration
  • 1,486 with non-practising registration.

There are 120 pharmacists who identify as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander, 0.3 per cent of the profession.

For further data breakdowns by division, age, gender and principal place of practice, visit the Board's Statistics page.

Board appointments announced

On 5 December 2024, the Australian Health Workforce Ministerial Council (the Ministerial Council) announced new appointments and reappointments across the National Boards.

Appointments and reappointments made to the Pharmacy Board of Australia are:

  • Dr Cameron Phillips - appointed as Chair and reappointed as practitioner member from South Australia
  • Ms Hannah Mann - reappointed as practitioner member from Western Australia
  • Ms Melissa Cadzow - reappointed as a community member
  • Dr Suzanne Martin - reappointed as a community member
  • Dr Janet Preuss - reappointed as a community member
  • Mr Richard (Rhys) Jones - appointed as practitioner member from Tasmania
  • Mr Adrian Lee - appointed as practitioner member from New South Wales
  • Mr Tobias Speare - appointed as practitioner member from the Northern Territory
  • Dr Tim Tran - appointed as practitioner member from Victoria
  • Ms Shana Valentine - appointed as practitioner member from Queensland.

Read the health ministers' meeting communiqué announcing National Board appointments.

Vacancies for a practitioner member from the Australian Capital Territory and a community member were re-advertised and are yet to be finalised.

Students and graduates

Graduating soon? Apply for registration now!

If you’re studying to become a pharmacist, finishing your course shortly, and have your supervised practice arrangements signed off, you can apply for provisional registration now.

Getting your application in early helps avoid any delays and helps get you into the workforce sooner. If you apply before you finish your study, we can start assessing your application while we wait for your graduate results from your university.

Before you can start working as a pharmacist you have to be registered with the Pharmacy Board of Australia (the Board).

Easy steps to apply online:

  1. Create your account using the online services portal and complete your application.
  2. Upload your documents and pay the required fees. Check that you have provided all required documents to prove you’ve met the registration standards, including certified copies of your photo ID, and your completed and signed application for approval of supervised practice.
  3. Wait for your education provider to provide your graduate results to the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (Ahpra). 

Watch our video to help get your application right: Applying for graduate registration.

On the Graduate applications page of the Ahpra website, you will find helpful guides on completing your application for registration, tips for how to avoid delays, and information flyers you can download for working offline.

Support for Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander graduates

The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Engagement and Support team (the support team) is here to assist you throughout the registration process.

It is staffed by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and provides a one-on-one service ranging from helpful tips for navigating the registration process to regular phone contact, and advice on disclosures made on registration applications (for example, about impairments) that may require consideration by the Board.

The support team is committed to assisting you to get registered promptly so you can start making vital contributions to safe healthcare and to your communities. If, after reading the handy hints below, you would still like help with your application for registration, please email the support team at mobengagementsupport@ahpra.gov.au.

Starting your internship? What you need to know for provisional registration

If you have just completed the final year of your pharmacy program or are an overseas qualified pharmacist and are about to start your internship, welcome to the profession!

If you have secured your supervised practice site, make sure that your preceptor and site have been approved and published on the register before you start your supervised practice hours. You will also be required to enrol in an intern training program (ITP) accredited by the Australian Pharmacy Council.

Don’t forget to ensure that you are covered by professional indemnity insurance that meets the Board’s Registration standard: Professional indemnity insurance arrangements. This may be your own cover or cover provided by your employer.

Other useful resources on our website that you should review include:

Your preceptor can also be a valuable learning resource for you. Ask questions, have regular discussions about a wide range of topics and remember you also need to take responsibility for driving your learning.

Workplace-based assessment tools for interns

The supervised practice period or 'intern year' marks a significant milestone in your journey as you move from the education environment into the workplace. Interns make an important contribution to the provision of pharmacy services to the community, under the supervision of preceptors and other pharmacists who play vital roles in supporting interns to become competent pharmacists.

The Board and the Australian Pharmacy Council (APC) have developed a set of workplace-based assessment (WBA) tools to help preceptors and supervising pharmacists in the work they do to mentor, advise and train intern pharmacists. These tools can be incorporated into workplace intern training plans in diverse pharmacy settings and include user guides and a variety of short assessment templates. WBA tools will be administered by your ITP and can also be downloaded with the associated guidance documents from the APC website.

Practice advice

Real time prescription monitoring

Real time prescription monitoring (RTPM) systems are clinical tools that are designed to provide information to pharmacists and prescribers about a patient’s history and use of controlled medicines. The purpose is to reduce the misuse of high-risk medicines while ensuring that patients who genuinely need these medicines can access them.

Each state and territory has introduced an RTPM system. Some jurisdictions have also introduced legislation to mandate the use of the system, while for others the use of the system is voluntary. The medicines that are monitored by each system differs for each jurisdiction.

All pharmacists should be aware of the requirements for using RTPM in the jurisdiction in which they practise. Specific information about each jurisdiction’s RTPM system can be found on the Department of Health and Aged Care website. The website explains that the misuse of controlled medicines is a growing concern in Australia, with levels of overdose and accidental deaths increasing. Choosing not to access RTPM systems could mean a pharmacist misses crucial information, which can have grave consequences for the patient.

RTPM systems use various mechanisms to alert the prescriber or pharmacist to high risk situations, such as when a patient has visited multiple prescribers. The pharmacist should use their clinical judgement when interpreting this information, noting that a prescription may still be safe to dispense. Similarly, the absence of an alert does not mean the prescription is safe to dispense.

There are several sources of information that guide pharmacists on the use of RTPM systems.

  • The Board’s Code of conduct sets out the standards of professional conduct expected of all pharmacists regardless of the jurisdiction in which they practise. Section 1.1 of the Code of conduct describes that good patient care involves taking into account a patient’s history, which includes available electronic records where relevant. RTPM systems are an example of an available electronic record, that will assist all pharmacists in making safe clinical decisions about the provision of high-risk medicines to the patients under their care.
  • Guideline 2 (Dispensing precaution – safety of prescriptions) of the Board’s Guidelines for dispensing of medicines states that at all times the dispensing of a prescription must be consistent with the safety of the patient, and that the presence of other medicines, medication history and other relevant circumstances need to be taken into account.
  • Pharmacy practice standards published by professional organisations describe RTPM as a source of relevant clinical information that when available, supports clinical decision making and safe practice.
  • The Pharmaceutical Society of Australia’s Digital health guidelines for pharmacists provide detail for pharmacists about meeting their professional obligations when interacting with digital health systems such as RTPM.

If you are practising in a jurisdiction that does not mandate the use of RTPM, consider your professional responsibility to use all available information to assess the safety of each prescription you dispense. The Board considers that RTPM systems are valuable tools to support safe practice.

New case study published on methotrexate

The Board publishes case studies to help pharmacists understand and meet their professional and legal obligations.

A new case study published this month examines an incident where it was alleged that a pharmacist made an error when checking a dose administration aid containing methotrexate, resulting in the patient being admitted to hospital.

Read more on the Board’s Case studies page.

What’s new?

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Practitioner registration reaches exciting milestone

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Practitioners registered with Ahpra hit 1,000 for the first time in September.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Practitioners are a unique profession founded on traditional values, complemented by modern medicine. They are clinical and cultural experts who build trust, practise cultural safety and bring an understanding which strengthens health outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples.

They work autonomously or as part of a multidisciplinary team, providing a broad range of expertise in both primary and tertiary healthcare, from administering and supplying medications, to acute and chronic disease management and advocating for consumers.

Their aim is to empower First Nations families and communities to make them feel welcome, safe and comfortable when using health services and to make self-determined decisions about their health and wellbeing. The profession, while small in number, is critical to ‘closing the gap’ by removing disparities in healthcare.

Ahpra and National Boards congratulate the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Practice Board of Australia for ensuring practitioners are suitably trained, qualified and safe to practise, and for working collectively and collaboratively with the National Scheme and stakeholders to eliminate racism in healthcare.

Read more in the media release.

Ahpra’s annual report shows progress in addressing workforce needs

Addressing workforce needs by getting more health practitioners safely registered faster and responding to new risks from emerging models of care are the highlights of the 2023/24 Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (Ahpra) annual report.

At 30 June this year, there were 920,535 registered health practitioners in Australia, a 4.9 per cent increase on the previous year. This means there are now 3.4 registered health practitioners for every 100 Australians. This is the first time the number of registered practitioners has exceeded 900,000, and 96.9 per cent of these practitioners hold practising registration.

There was strong growth in the number of internationally qualified health practitioners with 48.4 per cent more new overseas practitioners gaining registration than in the previous financial year.

Maintaining a balance between access to needed healthcare and the risk posed by some emerging models of care is a key priority for Ahpra, amid the acceleration of telehealth, online prescribing and direct-to-consumer health services. New models of care in areas such as medicinal cannabis and vaping have led Ahpra to develop cross-regulatory solutions with other regulators, such as the Therapeutic Goods Administration, to take a system-wide approach to patient safety.

Learn more about the Board’s work and data in the annual report or read the news item.

Stay in touch with the Board

  • Visit the Pharmacy Board website for news about the profession, information on the National Scheme and for registration standards, codes, guidelines, policies and fact sheets.
  • Lodge an online enquiry.
  • For registration enquiries call 1300 419 495 (from within Australia) or +61 3 9125 3010 (for overseas callers).
  • Address mail correspondence to the Chair, Pharmacy Board of Australia, GPO Box 9958, Melbourne VIC 3000.
 
 
Page reviewed 13/12/2024
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