MedAdvisor to deliver clinical platform behind Queensland pharmacy pilot
ASX-listed MedAdvisor has been chosen to provide the technology to support the first Australian pilot of community pharmacists expanding their practice, including the ability to prescribe medicines, as part of efforts to increase access to primary healthcare services to improve.
The company has won the tender to supply an enhanced version of its PlusOne pharmacy platform for the Queensland Community Pharmacy Scope of Practice pilot. The software, which will be integrated with the national digital healthcare infrastructure, will consist of a patient portal, clinical information system, prescribing functionality, secure communications and data analytics.
THE GREATER CONTEXT
Allowing pharmacists and other health professionals to expand their scope of practice, including administering a wide range of vaccines and prescribing medications, has been identified by the Australian Government Productivity Commission and the Queensland Government as a way to increase access to improve healthcare services while mitigating the impact. of the staff shortage.
Based on a recent survey conducted by Insightfully in North Queensland, half of patients with chronic conditions said they had not visited their GP regularly since the recent pandemic. Nearly four in ten respondents said they had waited too long to get a GP appointment, while more than a quarter said they had gone to the emergency department instead if not seen by a GP could be helped.
Meanwhile, all of Australia faces a shortage of more than 10,600 GPs by the end of the decade, based on a forecast by the Australian Medical Association (AMA).
Inspired by Canada, the United Kingdom and New Zealand, Queensland sought to expand the scope of pharmacy practice for the first time in 2020 with the Urinary Tract Infection (UTI) Pharmacy pilot. According to the state government, tThe pilot program, which became a permanent service last year, has since helped more than 10,000 women access treatment for uncomplicated urinary tract infections through their local pharmacies.
Building on the UTI Pharmacy pilot, the Queensland Government, in partnership with the Pharmacy Guild of Australia (PGA) and the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia, has been working on the Community Pharmacy Scope of Practice pilot since last year, initially covering North Queensland.
The initiative did not take place without resistance. The AMA, the AMA Queensland chapter and the Royal Australian College of General Practice had one rack he condemns the pilot as “reckless” and “dangerous”.
Despite the opposition, preparations for the program continue to this day. In September this year, Queensland Health Minister Shannon Fentiman announced the pilot would now cover the entire state. More pharmacies and pharmacists are now being recruited across Queensland for the program, which will begin providing services from 2024 to 2025 next year. To date, almost 300 registered pharmacists are close to completing the necessary 12-month postgraduate education and training. .
MedAdvisor’s provision of its PlusOne pharmacy platform for the statewide trial will be partially funded by the PGA. Their partnership to make commitments to government healthcare initiatives began last year with MedAdvisor acquired pharmacy software company GuildLink of the PGA.
Other Australian states are now following suit, with Victoria, New South Wales and Tasmania beginning their respective trials of pharmacy prescribing UTI treatment this year.