Source: Radio New Zealand
From Sunday 1 February, people can get prescriptions for up to 12 months. 123RF
A Te Awamutu pharmacist is concerned changes to prescriptions happening this week will burden pharmacists.
From Sunday 1 February, people can get prescriptions for up to 12 months – rather than three – if their doctor deems it safe.
Gemma Perry-Waterhouse, who owns Sanders Pharmacy in Te Awamutu, said a shortage of pharmacists would make explaining the new system while keeping up with other responsibilities challenging.
“There has been a decline in the number of pharmacies in New Zealand, and there’s a serious workforce issue. We don’t have enough pharmacists.
“We are concerned about this rollout and how much time it will take to explain to all patients what to expect with 12-month scripts; the fact that it isn’t for everyone, that their doctor needs to decide that.
“Be kind to your pharmacy if you’re popping in to talk about a 12-month script and what to expect, because we’re all under a lot of pressure at the moment.”
She said those eligible for a 12-month prescription would still need to go back to the pharmacy every three months to have medication dispensed.
“We’d have huge supply issues on top of the supply issues we’ve already got if patients were walking out with a year’s worth of medication.
“How often patients come into the pharmacy is not changing. Those interactions we have with our patients are so important for picking up changes and making sure everything is okay. It’s like an early warning system.”
She believed there could be more safeguards in place to monitor patients throughout the year if they were not visiting the doctor as often.
“The onus is on the prescriber to ensure the safety of the patients they’re giving out a prescription for 12 months to.
“But I think pharmacists’ concerns haven’t really been heard. We would have liked a system where pharmacists were actually empowered to check in properly with patients and a proper structure for feeding information back to the doctor. There’s no national system for pharmacists to communicate with doctors. A lot of the time, pharmacists are phoning reception and waiting to try speak with someone.
“Or community pharmacists being able to subscribe funded medications for patients would be a huge relief on primary healthcare and improve access for patients.
“There’s definitely more changes that can be done to use our pharmacists better.”
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
