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Council News December 2024
Council's message
Welcome to our final newsletter for 2024.
On behalf of the Pharmacy Council members and staff, I’d like to wish all pharmacists in NSW a safe and happy festive season. We look forward to working collaboratively with you to maintain public safety in 2025.
As you are aware, members of the public can, and do make complaints about healthcare practitioners including pharmacists.
A robust and effective regulatory framework to support this process is a key factor in maintaining public trust in our professional competence and conduct, as well as maintaining high standards of patient care.
However, as a community pharmacist and President of the Council I am often contacted by practitioners concerned about what they may view as ‘vexatious’ complaints and whether the Council will consider all aspects of the situation with the information available to them.
I can assure you the Council’s role is to take an unbiased approach to what action is required to protect public health and safety, based on the laws and regulations governing the practice of pharmacy.
The Council’s role is necessary but is not punitive. It must, however, protect public safety and the Council will take significant action when required to do so.
The following are some facts I hope will address any concerns:
- there are approximately 11,000 pharmacist practitioners with a principal place of practice in NSW
- in FY 23/24 there were only 363 practitioners who received a complaint which is approximately 3.3% of all practitioners
- in FY 23/24 there were 380 complaints closed by Council of those: -
- 80% were either discontinued/withdrawn or had no further action
- 41 practitioners received counselling
- only 7% of all closed complaints required significant action in the form of conditions/suspension
You will note that the majority of complaints result in no regulatory action being taken by the Council.
Prior to reaching a decision regarding a complaint, practitioners are given the opportunity to respond and to make further submissions regarding the allegations. A decision is not based solely on the information contained within the complaint. Any practitioner who receives a complaint should initially contact their indemnifier and professional association for advice and support.
Election of five pharmacists to the Pharmacy Council
The Pharmacy Council would like to acknowledge all candidates who nominated, and all pharmacists who exercised their right to vote.
The AEC received more than 1800 valid ballot papers. The final count has been conducted, and final election results have been declared by AEC (NSW) and published in NSW Government Gazette and Sydney Morning Herald.
The five successful candidates are:
- Rick Samimi
- Caroline Diamantis
- Quinn On
- Kate Gray
- Tim Hewitt
On behalf of the Council, I would like to congratulate the successful candidates who will commence their three-year term on 1 April 2025.
Annual Report 2023/24
Finally, for the 2023/24 reporting period, the Pharmacy Council report is included in the joint annual report of all NSW Health Professional Councils and can be accessed from the publication page of the Council’s website.
Rick Samimi
President, Pharmacy Council of NSW
Office closure
We advise that the HPCA offices will be closed from Monday 23 December 2024 to Friday 3 January 2024. The HPCA will continue to process urgent complaints during this period. Ownership applications and less urgent complaint matters will be dealt with after the office reopens on Monday 6 January 2025. If you have any queries, please contact the Council secretariat prior to the office closure on 1300 197 177. Ownership queries may be sent via our application email address: hpca-cms-pharmacy-applications@health.nsw.gov.au
We would like to take this opportunity to wish all pharmacists, their families and loved ones a safe and happy festive season.
Routine inspection program
The Council approves pharmacy premises in NSW as suitable for carrying on a pharmacy business, by a pharmacist, in accordance with the standards prescribed by the NSW regulations for or with respect to the safe and competent delivery of pharmacy services. The Council also maintains a Register of Pharmacies and financial interest holders of NSW pharmacies.
The Council has fully recommenced its routine inspection program (i.e. compliance inspections).
The Health Practitioner Regulation (New South Wales) Regulation 2016 requires compliance with standards which includes equipment and publications that must be kept in every pharmacy.
Aside from the equipment and publications listed in Schedule 5 of the Regulation, the pharmacy is required to have any other equipment necessary for the pharmacy to provide safe and competent delivery of pharmacy services.
The Council is pleased to make available two self-audit tools for proprietors and pharmacists in charge, to support compliance with the standards:
Please note that separate to the Council’s routine inspection program, the Pharmaceutical Services eCigarette Compliance Team is also undertaking on-site visits to pharmacies. Wherever practicable the Council will co-ordinate its compliance inspections to reduce the overlap of on-site pharmacy visits and minimise impacts from both programs.
Pharmacy visits by the Pharmaceutical Services eCigarette Compliance Team
The Pharmaceutical Services eCigarette Compliance Program supports pharmacists in meeting regulatory requirements for vaping goods. It does this through on-site pharmacy visits that raise awareness about the requirements, reviews local practices and provides guidance to prevent unintentional compliance breaches and encourage best practice.
Since its launch on 1 October 2024, the program has visited over 50 pharmacies across NSW. No significant compliance issues were found, and any minor concerns were addressed immediately. Key achievements include helping pharmacies manage stock compliance, dispose of non-compliant items and navigate reporting requirements. For further details and updates, visit the program’s webpage.
Health practitioner regulators united: family violence is unacceptable
Australia’s health practitioner regulators are united in their view that family violence is unacceptable. Australia’s health practitioner regulators have issued a joint position statement about family violence. Health practitioners play an essential role in the early detection, support, referral, and delivery of specialised treatment of those experiencing family violence.
Perpetrating family violence is not acceptable and could lead to regulatory action for registered health practitioners. We encourage any person aware of a health practitioner perpetrating family violence to provide information to the police and appropriate regulatory body.
For more information, see our news item.
Pharmaceutical Services Unit - Message from NSW Ministry of Health
NSW Health has received reports about a series of forged electronic prescriptions for Schedule 8 medicines that have been presented in pharmacies across NSW.
The forged electronic prescriptions share many characteristics with legitimate prescriptions, however there are minor variations in prescription attributes, particularly contact information that indicate the forgery. Pharmacists should not assume prescriptions are valid because they were issued electronically.
The Australian Digital Health Agency and the Australian Department of Health are aware of and are investigating these prescriptions. Where possible these prescriptions have been cancelled and fraudulent prescriber accounts disabled.
What to do when presented with a prescription for a Schedule 8 medicine
Pharmacists must exercise professional caution when dispensing any prescription for a Schedule 8 medicine and not dispense suspicious prescriptions that appear to be forged, altered, or fraudulently obtained.
If presented with a suspected forged electronic prescription – do not dispense. The electronic prescription should be cancelled to make the token invalid and unable to be used by any person. More information on dispensing of electronic prescriptions is available at the Pharmaceutical Services Electronic prescribing webpage Information for community pharmacists and the Australian Digital Health Agency's Electronic Prescribing - For Dispensers.
Fraudulent prescriptions must be reported to Pharmaceutical Services via the notification form. The police and the Digital Health Agency (fraud@digitalhealth.gov.au) should also be informed.
Pharmacists are reminded to exercise an appropriate level of judgement and due diligence when presented with any prescription for a Schedule 8 medicine written by a medical practitioner they are not familiar with. When verifying Schedule 8 prescriptions pharmacists must ensure that in addition to meeting prescription requirements, they either know the patient, or prescriber, or confirm the prescription is valid by independently verifying it with the prescriber. Pharmacists should be aware that forged prescriptions in the name of doctors not registered on Ahpra have also been reported.
More information is available at Reminder for Pharmacists: Requirement to verify Schedule 8 Prescriptions.
Pharmaceutical Services Information Directory
The Council advises that the Pharmaceutical Services Unit (PSU) has launched its Information Directory.
This is your go-to guide for all the answers and information you need quickly regarding the legislative requirements for medicines and poisons in NSW.
The PSU published in November 2024 a Reminder for Pharmacists: Requirement to verify Schedule 8 Prescriptions. By following these guidelines, pharmacists can help combat prescription misuse and ensure the safety of their patients.
For more information, see the News and notices page of the PSU website. In addition to the above, the Council also reminds pharmacists to have regard to certain requirements under the Poisons and Therapeutic Goods legislation including:
- Guides for pharmacists
Reference is made to the Guide to Poisons and Therapeutic Goods Legislation for Pharmacists (TG79) A more detailed review of the information in this guide is currently under development and will be published late 2024.
- Supply of prescription medicines
Reference is made to Continued dispensing and the Emergency seven-day supply by pharmacist.
Challenges during the holiday season
The Council published in December 2023 an article on the challenges that a community pharmacy faces during the holiday season and the importance of extra vigilance during this busy time.
A case study in relation to ‘Emergency supply and Continued Dispensing’, and Advice in relation to access to pharmacies and scheduled medicines may be of particular interest to support your contemporary practice.
Advice in relation to “Patients’ rights to choose where to access medicines”
The Council recommends all pharmacists in NSW familiarise themselves with the Pharmacy Board of Australia Guidelines for dispensing of medicines. They focus on safe dispensing and labelling of medicines, including compounded (or extemporaneously prepared) medicines as well as on providing a good pharmacy service. They also address the role of dispensary assistants/technicians in assisting pharmacists. Pharmacists who dispense compounded medicines should also refer to the Board’s Guidelines on compounding of medicines.
With respect to retaining prescriptions for subsequent dispensing and in the case of patients taking repeat prescriptions, particular reference is made to Guideline 13 Patient’s rights to choose where to access medicines and Guideline 8 Counselling patients about prescribed medicines.
- Guideline 13 states pharmacists must not enter into arrangements for exclusive supply of prescriptions from a health practitioner/prescriber or other third party. Pharmacists may offer to retain prescriptions for subsequent dispensing with the patient’s or client’s consent.
- Guideline 8 states in the case of patients taking repeat prescriptions, counselling provides the opportunity to inquire if the patient is taking the medicine correctly, if the medicine is having the desired outcome or if there are unwanted effects. It offers a further opportunity to detect any errors.
The Code of conduct (the Code) sets out the standards of professional conduct the National Boards expect and is used by Boards to evaluate practitioners’ conduct. Practitioners have a professional responsibility to be familiar with and to apply this code. The Code, which applies to the supply of commercially prepared and compounded medicines, states providing good care includes that you recognise and respect the rights of patients to make their own decisions about their current and future healthcare (see Section 1.1 Providing good care).
The Code further states good practice involves complying with the advertising requirements of the National Law (explained in the National Boards’ Guidelines for advertising a regulated health service) and relevant Commonwealth, state and territory legislation on consumer protection, fair trading and therapeutic goods advertising, as well as ensuring that any promotion of therapeutic products is ethical (see Section 8.5 Advertising).
Under section 41 of the National Law, the Code and these guidelines can be used in disciplinary proceedings under the National Law or law of a co-regulatory jurisdiction as evidence of what constitutes appropriate professional conduct or practice for pharmacists.
Useful links
Pharmacy Council podcasts:
If you haven’t had the chance to listen to our podcasts, we encourage you to do so. In our latest podcast episode, we explore the value of good communication and collaboration between doctors and pharmacists in supporting patient-centred care and safety.
Episode 5: Doctors & Pharmacists - Working together
