Engaging Pharmacists

1. Module 5.5 Engaging Pharmacists An untapped resource

2. Core, untapped stakeholders in primary care • Accessible and often the trusted first point of contact for consumers • Open 6.18 days per week and an average of 55.5 hours Annually in community pharmacies(1) • 78.2 million consultations around medications and health occur • Counselling occurs on 14.42 million occasions • Written or printed education material on 10.26 million occasions • High levels of enhanced service with trained staff around diabetes • At least 4.1 million patients referred to GPs, 1.77 million to health professionals and 44,000 to alternative practitioners (1)Berbatis CG, Sunderland VB, Mills CR, Bulsara M. National Pharmacy Database Project. School of Pharmacy, Curtain University of Technology of Western Australia; 2003.

3. What pharmacists want • Better communication with other providers • Education and protocols around chronic diseases and self management • Validated tools and resources for consumers • Ways to bring consumers into pharmacy • Maintained or increased income

4. Barriers and facilitators • Barriers to involvement are similar to GPs with pharmacists running a commercial business with time and resource limitations • Facilitators to engaging in further primary care activities include dedicated counselling area and access to patient notes

5. Ways to engage • Representation on program steering committees • Research of pharmacists needs • Capacity building for pharmacists and pharmacy staff around topic and program e.g. using pharmacist role model and community providers to do this • Building referrals into systems eg computer tagging, dispensing • Home Medication Review Initiative pharmacists comprehensively review an individual consumer's medication regimen in a home visit following referral from a GP (1) [1] Home Medication Review Initiative. Health Insurance Commission. http://www.hic.gov.au/providers/incentives_allowances/pharmacy_agreement/about_hmr.htm. Accessed 6/8/04