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Council News August 2022
Council Message
Welcome to the August edition of the Pharmacy Council of NSW newsletter.
This month we are very pleased to introduce newly appointed Council members, Dr Cherie Lucas and Anne Gripper.
Cherie is the new academic appointment to the Council and Anne our new community member. We have no doubt they will make valuable contributions and trust they will find their time with the Council stimulating and rewarding.
There have been a number of recent cases where pharmacists have not received our communications and newsletters. In this event, kindly ensure that Ahpra has your correct email address and please check your junk mail. If the problem persists, please advise the Council.
It is critically important that you keep up to date with all correspondence from professional organisations and regulatory bodies. Often, practitioners are unaware of correspondence. This information is categorised as CPD. It is incumbent on all pharmacists and pharmacy proprietors to be current and up to date with clinical and legislative changes.
All pharmacy proprietors must ensure that the latest edition of the Australian Pharmaceutical Formulary (APF 25) is available at the pharmacy. In addition, keys to the drug safe must be held by the pharmacist in charge. It is also essential that the names of the pharmacy proprietor and the pharmacist in charge must be clearly displayed in the pharmacy.
A salient article concerning Professional Services Rooms is included in this newsletter.
SafeScript NSW, a real time prescription monitoring system, is now available to all prescribers and pharmacists in NSW . We actively encourage all pharmacists to register and engage with the program and undertake all necessary education. Please refer to the update from eHealth NSW in this edition with links to resources and more information.
Lastly, we are excited to be invited to speak at this year’s Pharmacy Connect. The workshop ‘How to protect your most valuable business asset- your registration’ will be held on Thursday afternoon 1 September and will include panellists from PRU and HCCC.
Veronica Murdoch
Deputy President, Pharmacy Council of NSW
Have you outgrown the “approved” premises of your pharmacy business?
When you applied to register your pharmacy premises, do you remember that the Inspector came to the premises to check each area in the plan accompanying your application, before your pharmacy could open?
Do you remember that the Pharmacy Council’s approval was given for your pharmacy to operate in the area identified in that plan?
Has your pharmacy business grown so much that you have moved your compounding or dose administrative aids packing to another part of the building? Or even down the road? Was that room, or the separate premises, included in the plan when the Pharmacy Council registered your pharmacy? Here are a few tips to consider.
Acquiring an interest in a pharmacy business – know your responsibilities
A reminder that pharmacists have a responsibility to notify the Council of certain events. This includes notifying the Council of the intention to acquire a financial interest in a pharmacy business 14 days before the interest is acquired (Clause 4(1) of Schedule 5F Health Practitioner Regulation National Law (NSW).
The financial interest can be acquired as a sole owner, partner in a pharmacist partnership, director or member in a pharmacists’ body corporate, or unitholder or beneficiary of a trust. For more information read more.
Some points to Ponder
It has been requested that a newsletter article be written reminding pharmacists of what the Pharmacy Council Inspector is looking for when visiting pharmacies in New South Wales.
The Council Inspector provides this brief but hopefully helpful summary.
Depot Buprenorphine in Pharmacy Pilot - from the Ministry of Health
The University of Sydney has partnered with the Centre for Alcohol and Other Drugs (NSW Ministry of Health), Pharmacy Guild of Australia (NSW Branch) and the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia to implement the community pharmacy-based depot buprenorphine pilot.
The pilot commenced in June 2022 and will run to October 2022. During this time, pharmacists are asked to provide 3 monthly injections to patients prescribed depot buprenorphine. For more information on the pilot and links visit the website
SafeScript NSW - update from eHealth NSW
SafeScript NSW is now available to all prescribers and pharmacists in NSW. If you haven’t already registered, you can do it here. Once registered, you can access SafeScript NSW using your desktop clinical software (E.g. Fred Dispense, Z software, minfos) and receive pop up notifications when a high-risk situation is detected.
More information on how to configure your software can be found here. If you need support to manage patients using monitored medicines, you can call the SafeScript NSW Clinical Advice Line anytime on 1800 434 155 or refer to your local HealthPathways for specific clinical advice for Pharmacists.
Updates from NSW Health -COVID-19 and Influenza vaccines
COVID-19 update
COVID-19 transmission in the community remains high, with the number of daily cases increasing due to the ongoing transmission of the BA.4 and BA.5 Omicron sub-lineages.
Case numbers are expected to continue to rise in the proceeding weeks as these sub-lineages become the dominant strains circulating in NSW. Ensuring that people have received their COVID-19 booster vaccines and facilitating the timely administration of antiviral medication to those eligible is vital to support the community. Read more
Influenza vaccine update
The free flu shot program for all has now concluded.
Pharmacists can still administer flu vaccines to children aged 5 and over, and children under 5 should be directed to see their GP.
If you can provide easy access to the flu vaccine for any members of the public who visit or book an appointment at your pharmacy it would be appreciated.
For more information including in-language resources, visit: https://www.nsw.gov.au/health/influenza
Recent Tribunal decisions
Health Care Complaints Commission v Caroline Bradley
The Tribunal found the complaints of unsatisfactory professional conduct and professional misconduct proven. The practitioner’s registration was suspended for 6 months with conditions to be imposed following the end of the 6 month suspension.
Health Care Complaints Commission v Andrew Kaye
In its 1st stage decision, the Tribunal found the complaints of unsatisfactory professional conduct and professional misconduct proven. In this 2nd stage decision, the Tribunal cancelled the practitioner’s registration and ordered that he may not apply for review of the cancellation order for a period of 12 months.
Health Care Complaints Commission v Jason Vuong
The Tribunal found the practitioner guilty of misconduct and unsatisfactory professional conduct and. His registration is cancelled. He is not permitted to seek a review of the cancellation order for 2 years.
Health Care Complaints Commission v David Vuong
The Tribunal found the practitioner guilty of misconduct and unsatisfactory professional conduct. His registration is cancelled. He is not permitted to seek a review of the cancellation order for 1 year.
Health Care Complaints Commission v Phuoc Loc Le
The Tribunal found the practitioner guilty of unsatisfactory professional conduct. His registration is cancelled. He is not permitted to seek a review of the cancellation order for 1 year.
Health Care Complaints Commission v Mohamed Hallani
The Tribunal found the practitioner guilty of unsatisfactory professional conduct and professional misconduct. the Tribunal cancelled the practitioner’s registration and ordered that he may not apply for review of the cancellation order for a period of 18 months.
Useful links
On 29 June 2022, the revised shared Code of conduct for National Boards (except Medical, Nursing and Midwifery and Psychology) took effect. Resources to help practitioners and the public understand and apply the code can be accessed on the Pharmacy Board of Australia's website. Resources include case studies for practitioners and Information for the public – What is the shared Code of conduct?
Pharmacists are reminded of the requirements for supply of Schedule 4 vape products including the requirement to register through the Service NSW website. More information is available on the Pharmaceutical Services website https://www.health.nsw.gov.au/pharmaceutical/Pages/Nicotine-vaping.aspx - Information for Pharmacists section
If you would like to provide feedback or make a complaint about our administrative and business processes, you can do this using our online form or by emailing us at mail@hpca.nsw.gov.au
