Media Release – Pharmacy Guild lends its voice to the self-education cap campaign

The  Pharmacy Guild  of Australia  has  joined a raft of professional organisations in calling for a re-think  of the proposed capping of tax-deductibility of self-education expenses.

The  Guild’s Executive Director David  Quilty and National Coordinator of Intern Training Hayley Smilie (a practising pharmacist) spoke  at the meeting of fifteen  peak bodies.

Mr Quilty and Ms Smilie pointed out  that as a condition of their ongoing registration to practice, pharmacists by law must  undertake a mandatory amount of continuing professional development, with accredited pharmacists having additional requirements.

They expressed concern that the proposed cap on self-education expenses would  make it harder for pharmacists to meet  these  requirements and would  particularly  hurt:

•     Rural pharmacists who  travel greater  distances to access education;

•     Younger pharmacists who  are building  their skills; and

•     Female  pharmacists preparing to return  to work  after  having children.

David  Quilty said that the world of medicine  is changing with innovations like biologics  and pharmacogenomics driving greater  specialisation and  more  complex and personalised dispensing.

“These innovations will deliver better, more  cost effective  health  outcomes but are reliant  upon pharmacists increasing and  broadening their skills through self-paid  education,” Mr Quilty said.

“If there is rotting of the tax deduction going on, it should  be stamped out.   But it is no one’s  interest to discourage Australia’s best and  brightest health  professionals from  acquiring the most  up-to-date knowledge and skills to assist in the treatment of their patients,” he said.

Hayley Smilie said that pharmacies are taking on increased  responsibilities in areas like screening, monitoring, vaccinations, medication management, self-care and chronic care coordination.

“I am particularly  concerned about intern  pharmacists who  must  also meet  the mandatory CPD

requirements and have less capacity to pay,” Ms Smilie said.

“There is no government funding for clinical placements in pharmacy and  this proposed cap will particularly  discriminate against  those  intern pharmacists who  fund  their own intern training  rather  than racking  up more  HECS debt,” Ms Smilie said.

CONTACT: David  Quilty, Executive Director, Pharmacy Guild  of Australia  on 0 400 683 368