Pharmacist scope of practice is growing; and with this greater responsibility comes greater accountability. PSA’s revised Code of Ethics for Pharmacists introduces an explicit expectation that pharmacists should not dispense medicines for their personal use, except in limited circumstances.
Pharmacists are an independent safety checkpoint. Self-dispensing potentially compromises this independence. The self-dispensing obligation aligns with similar new obligations regarding self-prescribing and self-administration.
What are the risks of self-dispensing?
Dispensing is a clinical activity involving professional judgement, risk assessment, and verification. Self-dispensing introduces risks into this process, including potential for:
reduced objectivity, as pharmacists may be less able to critically evaluate their own therapeutic needs in the context of acute illness, stress or familiarity1
cognitive bias and oversight, which even experienced practitioners are susceptible to2,3
loss of trust/confidence, both in perception of privilege as well as suspicion should medicines be unaccounted for or unusual patterns of use be identified.
These risks are not a reflection of individual competence; rather, they reflect inherent human factors the profession seeks to mitigate through ethical practice.
What exceptions may apply?
The Code recognises circumstances may arise where alternative options are not reasonably available – for example, in rural or remote practice or after hours. Avoiding self-dispensing in these circumstances would deny access to treatment in conflict with the Code’s care domain, including primacy of patient health and wellbeing.
How can pharmacists navigate this?
Just as it’s widely accepted that every GP needs a GP, every pharmacist probably needs a pharmacist. In most cases, asking a colleague to dispense your prescriptions is adequate, provided a personal relationship does not undermine, or be perceived to undermine, professional objectivity (Integrity principle 3[b]). Where other options are not available, pharmacists should apply a structured ethical decision making approach such as PSA’s GUIDE Framework.4 This will explore the nature of clinical need, steps taken to minimise risk (e.g. minimise quantities, seek independent review) and documentation.
What are the practice implications?
The revised Code is now in effect. Dispensing pharmacists should take steps to adopt the new obligation statement, such as developing or updating workplace policies and discussing dispensing arrangements with colleagues.
Our author
Peter Guthrey FPS (he/him) is PSA’s Senior Pharmacist – Strategic Policy.
- Medical Council of New South Wales. Guideline for self-treatment and treating family members. Sydney: MCNSW. 2014. At: https://www.mcnsw.org.au/sites/default/files/procedure_-_guidelines_for_self-treatment_and_treating_family_members.pdf
- Levin K, Berg N. Believing in overcoming cognitive biases. AMA J Ethics 2020;22(9):E773–8.
- Medical Council of New South Wales. DIY medicine – the perils of self-prescribing. Sydney: MCNSW. 2024. At: https://www.mcnsw.org.au/diy-medicine-perils-self-prescribing
- Pharmaceutical Society of Australia. GUIDE Framework: ethical decision-making tool for pharmacists. 2026. At: https://www.psa.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/G.U.I.D.E-Framework.pdf
