Jenny Milner-Marsha Watson Pharmacy owner and pharmacist Marsha Watson with staff members William Tong, Gabby Squires and Paula Hales.
Photo by
Sharlene Baldo
In response to the dire need for medical services, a statewide initiative that aims to test the expanding role of community pharmacies will continue in Victoria.
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Data from Insightfully reveals 19 per cent of regional Victorians are waiting over three weeks to see a GP, with 15 per cent resorting to emergency departments for help with everyday conditions.
But under the Victorian Community Pharmacist Statewide Pilot, which commenced in October 2023, pharmacists have stepped up to fill this gap, delivering care that’s local, fast and trusted.
During the initiative, pharmacists will be able to provide certain Schedule 4 medications under a structured prescribing model:
Treatment for shingles
Treatment for a flare-up of mild plaque psoriasis
Resupply of select oral contraceptive pills without a prescription
Treatment for uncomplicated urinary tract infections
Travel health and public vaccines after the completion of additional training
Age range for most treatments include:
Shingles treatment — people aged 18 and over
Flare-up of mild plague psoriasis — aged 18 and over
Urinary tract infection treatment — women and gender diverse people aged 18 to 65 years
Contraceptive pills — women aged 16 to 50 years
Vaccinations — check with the pharmacist, as the age can vary for different treatments
Owner Marsha Watson getting a flu shot from pharmacist William Tong.
Photo by
Sharlene Baldo
Benalla’s Jenny Milner-Marsha Watson Pharmacy is just one of many Victorian pharmacies that have applied the pilot into their practice.
“We’ve been available to do it (Community Pharmacist Pilot treatment), but it’s not very well publicised, so people don’t know,” Mrs Watson said.
“But I believe you can look somewhere up and find out which pharmacists are involved.
“So that’s been really good, and I think that will continue and we’ll be able to diagnose and treat … so we’re prescribing medications that are normally only allowed to be prescribed by doctors.
“I like it, I like the fact that they’re relying on what we can do and what we’re capable of, and it does take a bit of pressure off the doctors as well.
“Because they are busy, the only reason you can’t get a doctor in Benalla is because if they just take infinite number of patients, then they can’t see them all.
“And already it’s hard enough to make an appointment there, so they can’t just keep taking people if they haven’t got more doctors.”
What used to be a 12-month statewide pilot is now gradually transitioning into a permanent solution for a variety of medical conditions plaguing Australia.
The Pharmacy Guild of Australia is urging a permanent expansion of pharmacists’ scope from July 2025, enabling treatment for 23 additional everyday conditions including asthma, nausea, hay fever and minor wounds.
“Oh, I think it will happen (the expansion); it’s already happening in Queensland,” Mrs Watson said.
“I think Queensland was the first ones to do the pilot program, and then we did it after they’d started it.
“We’re kind of catching up with them, but they certainly got the ball rolling.”
To see one of the pharmacists at Jenny Milner-Marsha Watson Pharmacy, Mrs Watson encourages patients to simply come right in.
“Because I’ve got either three of four pharmacists on duty any one time, generally they’ll be able to see one of us straight away, and if not straight away, say they came in during our lunch breaks when there’s only half the staff here, we’d just say come back later and one of us would fit them in,” she said.
“(I’d encourage them) just to think of pharmacies as your first stop on the way to the doctors.
“Come and see the people in the pharmacy first to get a recommendation on whether you need to see a doctor, how soon you need to see a doctor, or whether it can be something that can be managed by the pharmacy.
“I think a lot of people don’t take advantage of that.”
For more information on the Victorian Community Pharmacist Statewide Pilot, visit the Health Vic website at tinyurl.com/w94ft7js
For more information on Jenny Milner-Marsha Watson Pharmacy, visit its Facebook page at tinyurl.com/2mtkhxyr
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