The Pharmacy Guild of Australia, Victoria Branch, welcomes new laws that allow Paramedic Practitioners to deliver urgent care and prescribe scheduled medicines, providing Victorian patients with immediate treatment when they need it most.
The passing of the Allan Government’s Paramedic Practitioners Bill 2024 means Paramedic Practitioners will be able to assess, diagnose and treat patients in the field, make clinical decisions and take pressure off emergency departments.“
The expanded scope of practice of paramedic practitioners is another important step towards improved access to healthcare for patients in Victoria,” said Pharmacy Guild of Australia, Victoria Branch President, George Tambassis.
These new laws follow the successful Victorian Community Pharmacist Statewide Pilot (the Pilot), which has been extended until 30 June 2025. The Pilot has allowed patients to receive treatment at their local community pharmacy for uncomplicated urinary tract infections (UTIs), oral contraceptive resupply, shingles and flare-ups of mild plaque psoriasis, and travel health vaccinations.
More than 20,000 Victorian patients conveniently and affordably accessed Pilot services for these everyday health conditions at their participating pharmacy during the first 12-months of the Pilot’s operation.“
The Pilot is an important first step for community pharmacists to deliver more for Victorian patients,” Mr Tambassis said.“Victorian patients should be able to access the same services that are already available at community pharmacies in other states and territories.”
“The Guild is committed to actively working with the Allan Government to enable pharmacists to practice at their full scope and provide prescribing and clinical services to patients for 24 everyday health conditions, including acute nausea and vomiting, hay fever, asthma, acute wound management, gastrooesophageal reflux and more,” he said.
Authorising pharmacists to practice at full scope would align not just with the expanded role of Paramedic Practitioners but would also follow reforms implemented by the Victorian Government last year that enable authorised midwives to prescribe Schedule 2, 3, 4, and 8 medicines in their full scope of practice.“
Enabling a range of healthcare professionals – paramedics, midwives and community pharmacists – to do more for patients will significantly enhance healthcare outcomes for Victorians while taking pressure off our healthcare system,” said Mr Tambassis.
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