PGA Newsletter – Vol.1 No.28 November 2011
Annual Dinner address
Community pharmacists are the essential link in our health system between doctors, pharmaceutical manufacturers, hospitals – of course Government fits in there somewhere! – and the people we all aim to serve, the millions of Australians who rely on receiving world-best health care. The Government fully acknowledges that community pharmacy is a key element in assisting patients to navigate the challenges of innovative new medicines, competing medical claims, and wider health reforms. We hope to strengthen your role in community health, by:
• bringing pharmacy even closer to the centre of the national health reform agenda;
• improving community recognition and support for the pharmacy profession; and
• confronting some of the joint challenges we face.
Reputation and role of community pharmacy
The community pharmacist occupies a special position of trust and responsibility in the community – to be both the reliable source of medicines, and provider of impartial health care advice.
The Pharmacy Guild, in turn, faces the challenge of protecting this role and constructively representing the interests of pharmacists, while also developing revenue opportunities and supporting pharmacy supply chains – after all, pharmacies are small businesses and they must remain profitable to effectively meet their health care obligations.
In the rapidly-changing world of pharmaceuticals, with major lines coming off patent, new drugs becoming available, new claims of medical superiority, and moves from hospital to community care, it’s tempting – but unrealistic – to try to freeze some parts of the sector in place.
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