This year’s much-anticipated conference, APP2023 is officially underway.
The conference was opened by Pharmacy Guild of Australia National President, Professor Trent Twomey who began his address at the Opening Plenary on 23 March by proudly stating that despite of the challenging and frustrating times “the community pharmacy industry is stronger today than it was a year ago or indeed two years ago”.
Describing the current times as the commencement of “a decade of change”, Professor Twomey acknowledged the changes the pharmacy industry is experiencing currently.
“We are all experiencing a ‘decade of change’,” he said describing the various areas of change including in scope of practice, medicine pricing, pharmacist and pharmacy assistant training, patient expectations and more.
And while change can be daunting at times, Professor Twomey said change can also be an exciting opportunity.
“Change is exciting and provides great opportunities for our profession and patients,” he said.
“Your Guild is here to support you through this ‘decade of change’,” Professor Twomey continued.
“We stand shoulder to shoulder with you – as your practices change, as your lives change and as your patients change.”
‘A genuine win for patients’
Commenting on one of the biggest challenges within the industry of late, particularly in light of the cost-of-living crisis – affordable medicines – Professor Twomey described the Guild’s role in successfully advocating the Government to make prescription medicines more affordable.
“We did it for our patients. Without them, we have no one to serve and if they can’t pay for their life-altering, dare I say it: lifesaving medications, then we are not meeting their needs,” he said.
“Community pharmacies are on the frontline and saw – and continue to see – how people are struggling to afford their prescription medicines. Your Guild knew we had to do something.”
Professor Twomey continued: “Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was true to his word and quickly introduced legislation reducing the co-payment from 1 January this year – a clear sign of a government determined to keep their promises.
“This annual $190 million saving will go directly to the hip pockets of our patients.
“It is the first time in history the PBS, that the general patient co-payment has been reduced by any Government and on a yearly basis it could benefit up to 19 million Australians, who don’t have a concession card.
“Make no mistake, this is the single most significant change to the cost of and access to medicines since the PBS was introduced more than 70 years ago.
“This is a genuine win for patients,” he said.
Guild’s workforce project
Another issue facing the industry is the workforce.
“The single biggest member issue brought to my attention on a continual basis is workforce,” Professor Twomey said.
“Workforce issues are a constant reminder for us all of just how quickly the environment in our sector can change.
“To better predict and influence the workforce dynamics the Guild is undertaking a workforce capability project.
“As we all know, there is no quick fix on workforce issues.
“This project is compiling a comprehensive outline on the workforce’s capability, capacity and employability needs within and for community pharmacy, from both an owner’s perspective and pharmacist point of view,” he said.
Professor Twomey said the project aims to help “assist in effective advocacy and strategic decision” around workforce issues.
“It’s a huge project but one which will almost certainly enable you, our members, to better plan and progress your business practices and strategies,” he said.
‘Committed to leading change’
Another big and, at times, controversial, industry issue is scope of practice.
In his address, Professor Twomey recounted the steps taken by the Guild to see pharmacists practice to their full scope.
“The decade of change our profession is going through is well and truly underway,” he said, “and your Guild remains committed to leading this change.”
Underscoring the progress already made in this area, Professor Twomey said that practising to full scope isn’t just “great news for community pharmacy, but even greater news for our patients”.
“Importantly, full scope of practice makes our profession more attractive and will lead to greater career satisfaction and progression,” he said.
“This is another piece of the complex workforce solutions puzzle your Guild is delivering.”
‘Momentum is on our side’
Closing his address Professor Twomey said the industry is supported by events such as APP.
“APP is special [… it] has grown and challenged the community pharmacy industry to be bigger and better every year, and its APP which has given birth to program funding, agreement negotiations, service delivery advancements like vaccines and now our journey to full scope of practice,” he said.
“We are three years into a ‘decade of change’ – momentum is on our side – it’s an exciting time that provides great opportunities for our profession and our patients.”
