March 2019

Issue 21

• Chair’s message
• News from the Board
  • Vale Stephen Marty
  • Pharmacist prescribing discussion paper published
  • Read the Board's annual report for 2017/18
  • Meet the Board
• Practice advice 
  • New case studies web page
• Registration 
  • New registration data released
• Regulation at work 
  • Latest court and tribunal cases
• National Scheme news 
  • AHPRA's 2017/18 annual report is online
  • Pharmacy Board supports more public information on the national register
  • Proposed changes to practitioners' names published to the national register
  • AHPRA and National Boards welcome the release of the Accreditation Systems Review final report
  • Selectively editing reviews or testimonials may break the law
  • National Boards and AHPRA host research summit
  • 'Let's talk about it' videos launched
  • Legislative amendments on mandatory reporting and fake practitioners
• Keep in touch with the Board 

Chair’s message

Welcome to our first newsletter for 2019 and my first as Chair of the Pharmacy Board of Australia (the Board).

In this newsletter we introduce new content published on the Board’s website. The Board has developed a case study webpage as well as a webpage highlighting tribunal decisions. The Board hopes that this information will help practitioners understand and meet their professional and legal obligations as registered pharmacists.

The Board has also published a discussion paper on pharmacist prescribing. The discussion paper is your chance to give feedback, so the profession and stakeholders can continue to explore potential models of pharmacist prescribing. Your insights will be invaluable in helping shape possible pharmacist prescribing proposals. I strongly encourage all interested stakeholders to provide their feedback.

And on a final note, I would like to pay tribute to Steve Marty who sadly passed away recently. Steve was the inaugural Chair of the Pharmacy Board of Australia. He was well-known to the profession and stakeholders, having made significant contributions to pharmacy in the public interest during his long career as a regulator. Steve played a substantial role in the development and implementation of the National Registration and Accreditation Scheme (the National Scheme) and successfully led the Board through its establishment and operation as the national regulator of pharmacists.

As a Board member under Steve’s leadership, I was the beneficiary of his advice and guidance. Steve was a great mentor to me, guiding me in my development as a Board member and in preparation for my role as Chair of the Board. Those of us who had the opportunity to work closely with Steve will miss his insights, the benefits of his incredible knowledge about all things pharmacy, and most enjoyably, his wit and sense of humour. On behalf of the Board, I express our sincere condolences to Steve’s family.

Brett Simmonds
Chair, Pharmacy Board of Australia

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News from the Board

Vale Stephen Marty

The Pharmacy Board of Australia laments the passing of Mr Stephen (Steve) Marty, inaugural Chair of the National Board from 2009 to 30 August 2015. A tireless contributor to the pharmacy profession, Stephen was a motivated and highly respected member of the profession and an experienced regulator with public protection at the core of his work. The Board remembers his significant contribution to the establishment of the National Scheme and to leading the inaugural National Board for pharmacy. The Board and the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) express sincere condolences to Stephen’s family during this difficult time.

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Pharmacist prescribing discussion paper published

The Pharmacy Board of Australia (the Board) is seeking the views of practitioners and stakeholders about the potential role of pharmacists in prescribing.

The Board has published a discussion paper that includes the outcomes of the forum and a range of consultation questions to help the profession further explore its role in prescribing. The questions cover topics including:

• models of prescribing that can be pursued by the pharmacy profession including the supporting evidence
• identification of gaps in evidence that may need to be addressed by the profession, and
• issues that need to be considered and addressed to assess the regulatory need for an endorsement for prescribing of scheduled medicines.

The discussion paper is intended to stimulate discussion and collaboration among stakeholders and highlight where further work is needed to develop proposals for pharmacist prescribing.

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Read the Board's annual report for 2017/18

Following tabling of the annual report for AHPRA and the National Boards each year, each National Board publishes a profession-specific summary, with more information on Board activities and profession-specific registration and regulation statistics. You can find the Pharmacy Board report in PDF on the Downloads page of the AHPRA annual report page.

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Meet the Board

This month we chat to community member Rod Wellington.

Community board member Rod Wellington believes every Australian should have access to equitable health services wherever they live.

‘Pharmacy services are basic and core to the health and wellbeing of every Australian,’ Rod said.

Rod was appointed to the Pharmacy Board in 2018 for his first term of three years. He believes having community members at the table offers the opportunity to tap into a rich pool of talented candidates, something that is often ignored by organisations.

This opportunity brings new voices, experiences and approaches to the decision-making process while adding depth to existing skills and ideas.

‘Most importantly, the requirement to include community members on the Pharmacy Board brings it closer to properly representing stakeholders,’ Rod said.

‘For community members, board service can provide the ability to influence important decisions, develop expanded networks, achieve immense personal satisfaction and build on or develop new knowledge and skills.’

A member of the Policies, Codes and Guidelines Committee, Rod was involved in developing the discussion paper on pharmacist prescribing recently published by the Board.

‘It is important that the next steps in further developing the discussion paper not only consider the views of various health professions but also the needs of health consumers. After all, the focus of the Australian healthcare system is based on patient-centred care – an approach which involves health consumers in all decisions about their health treatment,’ he said.

As a non-executive director and CEO with over 20 years’ experience in the health, education and primary industry sectors, Rod believes he is well prepared for the role of a community board member.

‘My experience has enabled me to develop a very good understanding of corporate governance principles – the framework of rules, relationships, systems and processes within and by which authority is exercised and controlled in organisations.’

Helping to develop Rod’s interest in health practitioner regulation was his 10 years as CEO of Services for Australian Rural and Remote Allied Health (SARRAH). This role also saw him focus on rural and remote communities.

‘I became aware that health professionals, particularly in rural and remote areas, are required to adapt to workforce shortages and are well versed in the interprofessional and team approach to healthcare.

‘It is noteworthy that in many smaller and more remote communities, people in need of primary healthcare are reliant on nursing and allied health services because of workforce gaps. If these professionals are well supported, then the need for health consumers to access specialist and hospital services will be reduced.’

Rod said health professionals provided a range of clinical and health education services to people living in rural and remote Australian communities.

‘They are critical in the management of their clients’ health needs, particularly for those with a disability, chronic disease and complex care needs.’

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National Scheme news

AHPRA's 2017/18 annual report is online

The annual report for AHPRA and the National Boards for the year to 30 June 2018 is available online. The report provides a nationwide snapshot and highlights the multi-profession approach to risk-based regulation across the work of the National Scheme.

Insights include:

• More practitioners: There were 23,800 more registered health practitioners, totalling 702,741 health practitioners across the 15 regulated professions.
• Assuring individuals seeking registration are trained, qualified and competent: Over 740 accredited approved programs of study delivered by more than 330 education providers.
• Growth in notifications: This year, AHPRA received more notifications than in any other year since the National Scheme began (7,276), an increase of 5.5% nationally (1.6% of all registered health practitioners). The top three notifier complaints related to clinical care (41.0%), medication issues (12.6%) and health impairment (8.9%).
• Improved management of notifications about practitioners: While we received more notifications than ever before, we also closed more than ever before during the year (7,105). AHPRA is committed to improving the notification experience for both notifier and practitioner.
• Dealing with statutory complaints: This year, we received 416 new offence complaints relating to title protection and 1,043 complaints related to advertising.
• Ensuring public safety through monitoring and compliance: 5,005 practitioners had their registration monitored in 2017/18. The majority of active monitoring cases related to additional requirements about suitability and eligibility for registration.
• Prosecutions to protect the public: AHPRA completed 13 proceedings in the magistrates’ and local courts. All prosecutions resulted in findings of guilt.

To view and download the 2017/18 annual report, visit the AHPRA website.

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Pharmacy Board supports more public information on the national register

Changes to the national online register of practitioners will make it easier to access public information about health practitioners across Australia.

The online register has accurate, up-to-date information about the registration status of all registered health practitioners in Australia including pharmacists. As decisions are made about a practitioner’s registration renewal or disciplinary proceedings, the register is updated to inform the public about the status of individual practitioners and any restrictions placed upon their practice.

Along with other National Boards, the Board has decided to introduce links to public tribunal decisions when serious allegations have been proven, in the interests of transparency and on the recommendation of the Independent review of the use of chaperones to protect patients in Australia.

No information about the notifications received by the National Boards and AHPRA will be published. The change is simply helping to make information easier to find.

Further information is available on the Board’s website.

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Proposed changes to practitioners' names published on the national register

Governments recently consulted on possible changes to the Health Practitioner Regulation National Law (the National Law), as in force in each state and territory, one of which would allow AHPRA and the National Boards to publish the names that registered health practitioners use in practice and not just their legal name. The national online register of practitioners is a vital part of Australia’s system of regulating health practitioners to support patient safety.

The public and employers can look up the names of all health practitioners who are registered to practise, as well as find information about any limits or restrictions placed on the way an individual practitioner is allowed to practise.

The national register must remain an authoritative and trusted source of information about health practitioners. Consumers rely on it for accurate, up-to-date information to inform their healthcare decision-making and employers rely on it to validate their employees’ registration status.

Some health practitioners practise their profession using a name (an alias) that is different from their legally recognised name published on the register. AHPRA has asked governments to consider changes to the National Law that would enable registered health practitioners to nominate one or more aliases to be recorded on the public register.

AHPRA believes that recording additional names (or aliases) on the register will help to inform and protect the public by making it easier to identify a registered practitioner.

AHPRA and the National Boards will keep practitioners and the public informed of any changes to the law and reporting requirements. For more information, read the media release on AHPRA’s website.