In a submission to the Australian Pharmacy Council (APC) on their draft training standards for pharmacists in residential aged care, the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGPs) says the standards are not specific enough to the aged care setting and must go further to prevent conflicts of interest.
The APC was engaged by the Department of Health and Aged Care to develop accreditation standards for training programs that will quality pharmacists to work in residential aged care homes and conduct comprehensive medication management reviews.
The APC’s draft ‘Accreditation Standards for Pharmacist Training Programs—Aged care and comprehensive medication reviews’ is now open for review.
In its submission on the draft, the RACGP states they are concerned the Accreditation Standards don’t reflect the skills and education required of an aged care on-site pharmacist.
"The aged care context must be ‘front and centre’ of any aged care and comprehensive medication reviews training program’s curriculum and design to ensure that all core aspects are covered,” their submission states.
Caring for aged care residents differs significantly from that of the general population, they say.
The RACGPs also state that when community-based pharmacists fill the aged care pharmacist role “all efforts should be made to... maintain clear separation of conflicts of pecuniary interests to ensure best patient outcomes."
You can read the RACGP’s submission HERE.
You can read the draft standards HERE and the consultation paper HERE.
