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[post_content] => This year’s Pharmacy Shark Tank, held at PSA25 next week, is set to be a cracker – with some of the most exciting innovations yet, all powered by technology to solve real-world problems in pharmacy.
Australian Pharmacist caught up with some of the 2025 entrants to get a glimpse.
Working towards a more integrated healthcare system
As young pharmacists just entering the industry, Queensland-based brothers Alfred and Viknesh Bramasta have witnessed the errors that can occur when care is fragmented.
‘I'm currently doing my internship in a pharmacy in Queensland,’ Alfred said. ‘One of the major things we’ve seen is flaws in the software being developed, and we wanted to take the opportunity to make some improvements.’
The brothers developed a new software program, PillFlow, to record medication changes made by either GPs, hospital pharmacists or community pharmacists.
‘Right now, when a patient’s medication changes, the pharmacy and doctor often have to go back and forth by phone, email or fax just to confirm the new prescription,’ said Viknesh, a fourth-year pharmacy student who also works in a hospital pharmacy.
[caption id="attachment_29916" align="aligncenter" width="300"]
Viknesh Bramasta[/caption]
[caption id="attachment_29917" align="aligncenter" width="300"]
Alfred Bramasta[/caption]
Delays and communication gaps in the current process may affect both workflow efficiency and the quality of patient care.
Viknesh thinks PillFlow could change this.
‘Our main goal is to enhance patient safety,’ Viknesh said. ‘There can still be challenges in ensuring medication changes for DAA patients are clearly communicated, actioned, and recorded.’
By presenting PillFlow at Shark Tank, Alfred and Viknesh are keen to receive feedback from the judges and audience.
‘It’s a great avenue for us to test and share our idea directly with pharmacists,’ Viknesh said. ‘PSA has made the process really easy.’
Software developments are key to making pharmacists’ workloads more tolerable and improving medicine safety, Alfred said.
‘There's a lot that can be done to improve the workflow in community pharmacy, and innovation will be the main thing to ensure patients get the best benefit.’
Streamlining pharmacy workflows
After 5 years in community pharmacy, early career pharmacist Eric Khek has seen firsthand just how short-staffed the profession can be – especially during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic.
‘So I've always been interested in how to improve efficiencies in the pharmacy,’ he said.
To do this, Eric created a self-service kiosk system to automate pharmacy processes.
‘When a patient presents to the pharmacy with an eScript, they can scan the eRx [barcode] and answer a couple of questions pharmacy assistants usually ask,’ he said.
[caption id="attachment_29921" align="aligncenter" width="300"]
Eric Khek[/caption]
The system also serves as a triage for minor ailments.
‘If a patient presents with a cough, for example, the self-service kiosk will activate a cough protocol and ask screening questions that you would find in the Australian Pharmaceutical Formulary and Handbook related to cough, such as “Do you have any breathing difficulties?” or “Are you coughing out any blood?”’
Through this innovation, Eric is hoping to not only improve pharmacy workflows but staff stress levels also.
‘We can miss asking important questions during stressful times which could potentially lead to medication errors,’ he said.
Entering Shark Tank should open up network opportunities, Eric thinks.
‘Hopefully I’ll be able to meet like-minded people to collaborate with me and take this product to the next level,’ he said.
With technology evolving at a rapid rate, it’s important that the pharmacy profession keeps up. ‘Around 40–50 years ago, we didn't even have a computer for dispensing,’ Eric said. ‘Harnessing the power of technology makes our lives easier.’
Enhancing learning with AI
Pharmacist and clinical educator Krysti-Lee Patterson MPS is leveraging the power of AI to improve how pharmacy students learn and prepare to practice as registered pharmacists.
Her innovation, The SMART project – an AI model used by the University of Technology Sydney – allows students to practise exam simulations with case scenarios.
‘We’ve essentially created ChatGPT for pharmacists,’ she said. ‘Using our AI models, we feed the platform with case scenarios that the lecturers have created – allowing the students to be able to practice under exam conditions.’
[caption id="attachment_21130" align="aligncenter" width="300"]
Krysti-Lee Patterson MPS[/caption]
The SMART project is designed to both save university staff time and improve pharmacy curricula.
‘The head of Pharmacy at UTS explained that a key challenge is that they're too low on time to be able to do one-on-one training or coaching with their students,’ Krysti-Lee said. ‘So one of the problems we’re trying to solve is saving time without reducing quality.’
Academics can also use data collected from the model to assess whether students are asking the same questions, and address any gaps in the course.
‘The next phase, which we're working on now, will actually allow you to speak to it – so students can practise their oral exams via our platform.’
With pharmacy being a heavily regulated industry, which can be adverse to risk and change, it’s important to showcase the innovations of budding entrepreneurs to strengthen the profession.
‘It's going to make things more efficient, have better outcomes for patients, and ultimately, make a difference to the health of Australians,’ Krysti-Lee said.
Catch the pitches of these three innovations at PSA25’s Pharmacy Shark Tank happening from 3:20 PM - 4:20 PM on Friday 1 August. Last minute registrations are closing soon, visit the PSA25 website to grab yours before it's too late.
[post_title] => What innovations could pharmacy soon see?
[post_excerpt] => This year’s Pharmacy Shark Tank, held at PSA25 next week, is set to be a cracker – with some of the most exciting innovations yet.
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[post_content] => Today, a visit to the pharmacy is likely to go beyond the supply of medicines to include a possibly detailed discussion of their usage and potential problems, as well as an increasing number of clinical services such as prescribing medications for certain infections and allergies, and selected vaccinations.
These clinical activities that provide information and services have developed over several decades in response to the needs of the community and developed because of the concerted efforts of pharmacy educators and practitioners.
The idea of what was first called ‘office-based pharmacy’ was being promoted in the 1970s by practitioners including Colin Trevena in Boorowa (NSW) and Eugene White, author of The Office-Based Family Pharmacist (Berryville VA, USA, 1978). Alan Polack, as Head of the Tasmanian School of Pharmacy, shared this vision and had the opportunity and commitment to carry this into effect.
[caption id="attachment_29926" align="aligncenter" width="400"]
Alan Polack[/caption]
Life
Alan grew up in South Africa and studied pharmacy at Rhodes University (B.Sc (Pharm)). He was very opposed to the apartheid system which in the 1960s could bring trouble with the police so, after the passing of his mother, he went to the UK. In London he met Mary Moore, a Tasmanian pharmacist, and they kept in touch after he moved to Australia for further studies (M.Pharm (Syd) and PhD (Adel)). He and Mary married in 1967 and moved from Adelaide to Hobart in 1971 where Alan joined the new tertiary-level School of Pharmacy at the Tasmanian College of Advanced Education. He became Head in 1973 and continued in that position after the school moved to the University of Tasmania in 1978, until he stepped down in 1995. Mary Polack began a successful career in the Pharmaceutical Society where, amongst other achievements, she pioneered the Self Care Program and was in 2007 awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM).
Alan had a passionate vision for Australian community pharmacy that seemed quite fanciful at the time. In part, it was influenced by study leave in the USA, seeing their clinical pharmacy services (mainly in the hospital setting) provided by growing numbers of PharmD graduates. As the Head of School, Alan drove the practice focus of the BPharm course. Key to this were two clinical specialists. Bill Friesen, a Canadian with experience working in the USA with PharmD clinical pharmacists, gave university courses in pathology and therapeutics. George Taylor, who had developed clinical expertise as a pharmacist working on wards at the Royal Hobart Hospital, took students on rounds for their practical experience. In addition, students increasingly spent significant hours in placements in community and hospital pharmacies. This was made possible by the many pharmacists who took on the role of tutor in a generous contribution to the development of their profession. The Tasmanian School was well ahead of others nationally in this respect, with our graduates highly regarded.
Teaching
Alan will be fondly remembered by many in the pharmacy profession. His legacy is deeply woven into the BPharm program here at UTAS, where his vision and strategic foresight helped shape clinical pharmacy services in Australia. At a time when his ideas seemed bold, Alan made decisions that ultimately transformed the profession, laying foundations that continue to influence pharmacy practice today. His lectures were often stimulating and wide-ranging, where the subject matter was sometimes secondary to the lively and provocative discussions he inspired. Alan’s dedication to pharmacy education and research was matched only by his enthusiasm for engaging minds and challenging norms.
His engagement with students is perhaps best illustrated by his rather charged relationship with two students, who can be called ‘Shane’ and ‘Mark’, who introduced a certain playful irreverence into his lectures. Despite this, Alan attempted to teach them how to play golf, but apparently without outstanding success. However, both students succeeded in their subsequent professional lives, in pharmacy practice and academia (Clin Assoc Prof Shane Jackson and Prof Mark Naunton, both current national Board directors of PSA).
Research
Alan was passionate about drug – plastic interactions, on which he had done his PhD, and fostered the progress of many PhD students, often in collaboration with Michael Roberts. He encouraged research in other fields of pharmaceutical science and pharmacy practice, often in collaboration with other disciplines. As with education, Alan’s research contributions will not be forgotten.
Sporting
Alan will be remembered for his unwavering passion for the Melbourne Football Club, his early years as a gifted cricketer playing County Cricket in the UK, a talented squash player and later as a keen golfer.
Alan passed away on Monday, 14 July, 2025, after a short illness. Mary had passed away on 28 December 2021. They were a highly successful couple who contributed greatly to the pharmacy profession in Tasmania and nationally. They are survived by their daughter, Fiona, son-in-law Rob, and granddaughter, Susannah, who live in St. John's, Canada, and their son, John, who lives in Hobart.
Tributes
Here are two of the many tributes from his former students and colleagues.
‘There are lots of stories all of us could tell but, perhaps, the take home message I think all of us would agree on is that Alan provided us with positive and inspirational leadership that enabled our small school to be at the national forefront in experiential pharmacy student learning - through practitioner involvement, structured work placements, student and cognate discipline engagement, an interactive cutting edge curriculum, judicious staff appointments and the promotion of cutting edge research.’ – Professor Michael Roberts
‘He was indeed a great academic who made a difference as well as being a genuinely nice bloke.’ Professor Lloyd Sansom
[post_title] => Alan Polack, a Pioneer in Pharmacy Education
[post_excerpt] => Alan Polack helped to shape modern pharmacy education, championing clinical practice and experiential learning before they became the norm.
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[post_content] => Pharmacist scope of practice is expanding at a rapid rate. With more services, training courses and learning opportunities on offer – it can be difficult to know which direction to choose.
Australian Pharmacist spoke with Bridget Totterman MPS – multi-pharmacy owner and PSA Board Director – about how she’s paving her own path to become a pharmacist prescriber.
Tell us about your journey to becoming a prescribing pharmacist.
It’s still ongoing! I’m currently enrolled in PSA’s Pharmacist Prescribing Scope of Practice Training Program – which is in-depth, and certainly challenging, but in a good way.
I chose the PSA course because it’s self-paced and the team is so supportive. I know PSA will continue to support me through the implementation of new services, and beyond.
The training has two arms – a prescribing and clinical practice training program.
The prescribing component involves theory-based learning focused on the prescribing cycle, including information gathering, clinical decision making, communicating decisions to patients and other healthcare professionals and reviewing those decisions.
Meanwhile, the clinical component focuses on differential diagnosis. While we learn about that at uni, the clinical training takes a more rigorous approach. It reminds us of the step-by-step process, practical implications and alternative explanations for each symptom.
Even if you’re 99% confident in a patient’s diagnosis, it’s great to challenge yourself and think about what else it could be. This helps to build confidence in the diagnosis and offer the appropriate treatment plan. It also highlights red flags for certain conditions and reiterates the need for referral in these cases – ensuring we are always working as part of a broader healthcare team in the best interests of the patient.
Are you offering expanded services in your pharmacies?
Some of our pharmacists have completed the training and are already practicing as prescribing pharmacists.
As of 1 July 2025, the Queensland pharmacy prescribing pilots became permanent for listed acute conditions and medication management services, such as therapeutic substitution and adaptation, and PBS Continued Dispensing Arrangements. So appropriately trained pharmacists can prescribe hormonal contraception and medicines for a raft of acute conditions, such as ear infections and skin conditions. They can also prescribe and administer travel vaccines and provide smoking cessation and weight management services.
If someone comes into the pharmacy with shingles, our trained pharmacists can now prescribe the right treatment for the patient. We all know time is of the essence when it comes to antivirals, and if patients have to wait to see their GP, they may miss the window where treatment is effective.
What impact has this had on patients and staff?
Patients have always found pharmacy convenient. Every day of the week, patients can walk in and speak to a trained healthcare professional – no appointment needed. With expanded scope and the ability to prescribe more medicines, we now have more tools in our belt to provide quality healthcare solutions to our patients in a timely manner.
It's also great for pharmacists’ professional satisfaction. We had a team meeting at one of my pharmacies last week, and the whole team was so excited to get behind the prescribing pharmacists so we can all help patients access the healthcare they need in a timely way.
Our amazing pharmacy assistants have also jumped on board and are of vital assistance in triaging patients and letting them know care is available. It lifts everyone's confidence and reminds us why we love this profession and why we chose pharmacy in the first place – to help patients.
What would you say to pharmacists apprehensive about prescribing?
Come to PSA25! Listen to the speakers on the scope of practice panels and talk to people offering these services from different states and territories.
Back in 2014, I was lucky enough to be one of the first pharmacists to participate in the Queensland Pharmacist Immunisation Pilot, allowing us to administer flu vaccines to patients.
At the time, I had pharmacists working for me who said, ‘I’ll never be able to vaccinate. I couldn't imagine putting a needle in someone’s arm’. But now they are smashing out vaccinations. While it’s normal to be hesitant, remember that PSA has a long history of supporting pharmacists every step of the way, wherever your scope of practice takes you.
You don't have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step. And if you’re comfortable, the next step. Who knows where it'll take you.
Which aspect of scope of practice expansion excites you the most?
Helping more people, more quickly. It’s disheartening when red tape gets in the way – like when a mum walks into the pharmacy at 10:00 pm on a Friday with a sick child, no access to a GP, and you’re limited in your ability to help.
Hopefully, scope of practice expansion will help to expand the workforce by attracting more pharmacists to our profession. And if we're all doing more, that should help to improve the healthcare access crisis we're experiencing at the moment.
What services are you keen to see pharmacists branch into?
Preventative care. I think we can have a huge impact on patients’ lives through weight management and smoking cessation. We chat to people all day, every day. While they may feel uncomfortable discussing their weight in other healthcare settings, speaking with the friendly pharmacist they've seen every week for the past 20 years might put them more at ease.
Where do you see scope of practice going nationally?
I'm hoping it will be a domino effect. I don't want to see resources wasted with people trying to reinvent the wheel. Other states and other jurisdictions should adopt guidelines and protocols that have been proven to work. We need consistency across the country, and while that may take time, we should aim to make the process as seamless as possible. Let's just take what works and roll it out.
What scope of practice sessions or panels are you excited to see at PSA25?
There's so many. I always look forward to hearing from Penny Shakespeare, Deputy Secretary for Health Resourcing at the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing – who's participating in the first Policy Panel on Friday morning (1 August).
Professor Bruce Warner, Honorary Professor of Pharmacy Policy and Practice at theUniversity of Nottingham in the UK, will also be sharing his experiences from an international perspective. I love hearing from people who are actually practicing at full scope.
Pharmacists enhancing Palliative Care across the Health Neighbourhood is another session I hope pharmacists will go along to. Now that PSA’s ASPIRE Palliative Care Foundation Training Program is freely available, pharmacists interested in that field make such a difference in people's lives.
Why is it important to connect with other pharmacists at industry events like PSA25?
To connect with others in our profession. Who knows, you might meet your next employer or someone you want to go into business with. You might even end up with a lifelong mentor or a mentee. It's all about connection, positivity and uplifting each other.
Learn more about expanding your scope of practice from Bridget Totterman and others at PSA25, held in Sydney from 1–3 August. Register here to attend.
[post_title] => Taking the first steps into pharmacist prescribing
[post_excerpt] => Any pharmacist can become a pharmacist prescriber, according to this expert. Here’s how to forge your own path.
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[post_content] => A practical workflow for cancelling tokens, updating profiles and preventing repeat-token errors at every dispense.
Electronic prescriptions are safe, secure and generally convenient for patients and
health practitioners.1 This convenience largely stems from the rapid transfer of
prescriptions and their digital tokens without the need for a physical paper
prescription.
This transfer is so fast there’s often no lag between a dispensing label being printed
and the patient receiving a new repeat token on their phone via SMS. So what
happens if that repeat is sent to the wrong number?
What happens if a pharmacy sends a token to the wrong phone number?
The wrong person will receive the token. While the design of tokens (no name,
limited information) limits the likelihood of a privacy breach, it provides the recipient
with unauthorised access to the prescription (and therefore unauthorised access to
the prescribed medicine).
What can cause the token to be associated with the wrong phone number?
A person’s phone numbers in dispensing software may be incorrect when:
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[post_content] => The Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) has cracked down on medicinal cannabis, with new guidance to tighten up the rules and put practitioners ‘on notice’.
Poor prescribing practices have placed patients at significant harm, with AHPRA stepping in to remind prescribers and dispensers that medicinal cannabis should be treated as any other Controlled Drug (Schedule 8 medicine).
‘We don’t prescribe opioids to every patient who asks for them, and medicinal cannabis is no different,’ said Medical Board of Australia Chair, Dr Susan O’Dwyer. ‘Patient demand is no indicator of clinical need.’
AHPRA has already taken action against 57 medical practitioners, pharmacists and nurses over medicinal cannabis prescribing practices, with AHPRA CEO Justin Untersteiner confirming that the regulator is currently investigating 60 more.
Australian Pharmacist investigates the issue and pharmacists' obligations going forward.
Booming business, bad practice
Demand for medicinal cannabis has grown significantly in recent years. Australians spent approximately $402 million on medicinal cannabis in the first half of 2024, nearly matching the $448 million spent in all of 2023.
This surge in demand has led to a significant upswing in prescribing, with APHRA identifying eight practitioners who issued more than 10,000 scripts over a 6-month, and one who appears to have issued more than 17,000 scripts.
Nearly all medicinal cannabis products are unapproved Schedule 8 medicines, meaning prescribers must use the Special Access Scheme or Authorised Prescriber pathway to prescribe them.
But the development of closed loop arrangements, where medicinal cannabis is prescribed via telehealth appointments, has meant that the required level of scrutiny and investigation by prescribing doctors has perhaps not been conducted, said PSA National Vice President and Pharmacy Council of New South Wales Board Member Caroline Diamantis FPS.
[caption id="attachment_24130" align="alignright" width="267"]
Caroline Diamantis FPS[/caption]
‘Prescribers need to assess if there is a therapeutic need for the prescription and ensure they've developed appropriate management plans.’
AHPRA has said that poor professional standards have been applied, particularly around the volume of medicinal cannabis being prescribed and dispensed.
‘They are looking for stronger safeguards around prescribing, real-time prescription monitoring (RTPM) and S8 controls – prioritising therapeutic need over commercial convenience,’ Ms Diamantis said.
The other concern is around various business models that have been ‘conveniently’ created around the demand for medicinal cannabis.
‘AHPRA’s concern is that the prescriber and dispenser obligations for therapeutic suitability have been overlooked,’ she added.
Part and parcel of this new business model is the delivery service for medicinal cannabis adopted by some pharmacists.
‘The very real concern is there's minimal human contact,’ she said. ‘The patient does not have an opportunity to speak with the dispensing pharmacist about any concerns or questions.’
A real danger for patients
Medicinal cannabis comes in various dosage formulations with various levels of activity including gummies, tinctures or vaporisers.
Patients can sometimes walk away with several different dose forms without prescribers investigating their:
‘It’s illegal in NSW to dispense an S8 unregistered item on a fax or email. YOu either need a token or a real paper script.' CAROLINE DIAMANTIS FPSHowever, pharmacists should also be aware there may be gaps in these records. While all electronic prescriptions and computer-generated paper scripts with an eScript barcode will automatically be recorded in RTPM as unapproved therapeutic goods, human coding errors mean sometimes medicinal cannabis prescription or dispense events are not visible. Other reasons the script may not be visible include:
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[post_content] => This year’s Pharmacy Shark Tank, held at PSA25 next week, is set to be a cracker – with some of the most exciting innovations yet, all powered by technology to solve real-world problems in pharmacy.
Australian Pharmacist caught up with some of the 2025 entrants to get a glimpse.
Working towards a more integrated healthcare system
As young pharmacists just entering the industry, Queensland-based brothers Alfred and Viknesh Bramasta have witnessed the errors that can occur when care is fragmented.
‘I'm currently doing my internship in a pharmacy in Queensland,’ Alfred said. ‘One of the major things we’ve seen is flaws in the software being developed, and we wanted to take the opportunity to make some improvements.’
The brothers developed a new software program, PillFlow, to record medication changes made by either GPs, hospital pharmacists or community pharmacists.
‘Right now, when a patient’s medication changes, the pharmacy and doctor often have to go back and forth by phone, email or fax just to confirm the new prescription,’ said Viknesh, a fourth-year pharmacy student who also works in a hospital pharmacy.
[caption id="attachment_29916" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Viknesh Bramasta[/caption]
[caption id="attachment_29917" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Alfred Bramasta[/caption]
Delays and communication gaps in the current process may affect both workflow efficiency and the quality of patient care.
Viknesh thinks PillFlow could change this.
‘Our main goal is to enhance patient safety,’ Viknesh said. ‘There can still be challenges in ensuring medication changes for DAA patients are clearly communicated, actioned, and recorded.’
By presenting PillFlow at Shark Tank, Alfred and Viknesh are keen to receive feedback from the judges and audience.
‘It’s a great avenue for us to test and share our idea directly with pharmacists,’ Viknesh said. ‘PSA has made the process really easy.’
Software developments are key to making pharmacists’ workloads more tolerable and improving medicine safety, Alfred said.
‘There's a lot that can be done to improve the workflow in community pharmacy, and innovation will be the main thing to ensure patients get the best benefit.’
Streamlining pharmacy workflows
After 5 years in community pharmacy, early career pharmacist Eric Khek has seen firsthand just how short-staffed the profession can be – especially during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic.
‘So I've always been interested in how to improve efficiencies in the pharmacy,’ he said.
To do this, Eric created a self-service kiosk system to automate pharmacy processes.
‘When a patient presents to the pharmacy with an eScript, they can scan the eRx [barcode] and answer a couple of questions pharmacy assistants usually ask,’ he said.
[caption id="attachment_29921" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Eric Khek[/caption]
The system also serves as a triage for minor ailments.
‘If a patient presents with a cough, for example, the self-service kiosk will activate a cough protocol and ask screening questions that you would find in the Australian Pharmaceutical Formulary and Handbook related to cough, such as “Do you have any breathing difficulties?” or “Are you coughing out any blood?”’
Through this innovation, Eric is hoping to not only improve pharmacy workflows but staff stress levels also.
‘We can miss asking important questions during stressful times which could potentially lead to medication errors,’ he said.
Entering Shark Tank should open up network opportunities, Eric thinks.
‘Hopefully I’ll be able to meet like-minded people to collaborate with me and take this product to the next level,’ he said.
With technology evolving at a rapid rate, it’s important that the pharmacy profession keeps up. ‘Around 40–50 years ago, we didn't even have a computer for dispensing,’ Eric said. ‘Harnessing the power of technology makes our lives easier.’
Enhancing learning with AI
Pharmacist and clinical educator Krysti-Lee Patterson MPS is leveraging the power of AI to improve how pharmacy students learn and prepare to practice as registered pharmacists.
Her innovation, The SMART project – an AI model used by the University of Technology Sydney – allows students to practise exam simulations with case scenarios.
‘We’ve essentially created ChatGPT for pharmacists,’ she said. ‘Using our AI models, we feed the platform with case scenarios that the lecturers have created – allowing the students to be able to practice under exam conditions.’
[caption id="attachment_21130" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Krysti-Lee Patterson MPS[/caption]
The SMART project is designed to both save university staff time and improve pharmacy curricula.
‘The head of Pharmacy at UTS explained that a key challenge is that they're too low on time to be able to do one-on-one training or coaching with their students,’ Krysti-Lee said. ‘So one of the problems we’re trying to solve is saving time without reducing quality.’
Academics can also use data collected from the model to assess whether students are asking the same questions, and address any gaps in the course.
‘The next phase, which we're working on now, will actually allow you to speak to it – so students can practise their oral exams via our platform.’
With pharmacy being a heavily regulated industry, which can be adverse to risk and change, it’s important to showcase the innovations of budding entrepreneurs to strengthen the profession.
‘It's going to make things more efficient, have better outcomes for patients, and ultimately, make a difference to the health of Australians,’ Krysti-Lee said.
Catch the pitches of these three innovations at PSA25’s Pharmacy Shark Tank happening from 3:20 PM - 4:20 PM on Friday 1 August. Last minute registrations are closing soon, visit the PSA25 website to grab yours before it's too late.
[post_title] => What innovations could pharmacy soon see?
[post_excerpt] => This year’s Pharmacy Shark Tank, held at PSA25 next week, is set to be a cracker – with some of the most exciting innovations yet.
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[post_content] => Today, a visit to the pharmacy is likely to go beyond the supply of medicines to include a possibly detailed discussion of their usage and potential problems, as well as an increasing number of clinical services such as prescribing medications for certain infections and allergies, and selected vaccinations.
These clinical activities that provide information and services have developed over several decades in response to the needs of the community and developed because of the concerted efforts of pharmacy educators and practitioners.
The idea of what was first called ‘office-based pharmacy’ was being promoted in the 1970s by practitioners including Colin Trevena in Boorowa (NSW) and Eugene White, author of The Office-Based Family Pharmacist (Berryville VA, USA, 1978). Alan Polack, as Head of the Tasmanian School of Pharmacy, shared this vision and had the opportunity and commitment to carry this into effect.
[caption id="attachment_29926" align="aligncenter" width="400"] Alan Polack[/caption]
Life
Alan grew up in South Africa and studied pharmacy at Rhodes University (B.Sc (Pharm)). He was very opposed to the apartheid system which in the 1960s could bring trouble with the police so, after the passing of his mother, he went to the UK. In London he met Mary Moore, a Tasmanian pharmacist, and they kept in touch after he moved to Australia for further studies (M.Pharm (Syd) and PhD (Adel)). He and Mary married in 1967 and moved from Adelaide to Hobart in 1971 where Alan joined the new tertiary-level School of Pharmacy at the Tasmanian College of Advanced Education. He became Head in 1973 and continued in that position after the school moved to the University of Tasmania in 1978, until he stepped down in 1995. Mary Polack began a successful career in the Pharmaceutical Society where, amongst other achievements, she pioneered the Self Care Program and was in 2007 awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM).
Alan had a passionate vision for Australian community pharmacy that seemed quite fanciful at the time. In part, it was influenced by study leave in the USA, seeing their clinical pharmacy services (mainly in the hospital setting) provided by growing numbers of PharmD graduates. As the Head of School, Alan drove the practice focus of the BPharm course. Key to this were two clinical specialists. Bill Friesen, a Canadian with experience working in the USA with PharmD clinical pharmacists, gave university courses in pathology and therapeutics. George Taylor, who had developed clinical expertise as a pharmacist working on wards at the Royal Hobart Hospital, took students on rounds for their practical experience. In addition, students increasingly spent significant hours in placements in community and hospital pharmacies. This was made possible by the many pharmacists who took on the role of tutor in a generous contribution to the development of their profession. The Tasmanian School was well ahead of others nationally in this respect, with our graduates highly regarded.
Teaching
Alan will be fondly remembered by many in the pharmacy profession. His legacy is deeply woven into the BPharm program here at UTAS, where his vision and strategic foresight helped shape clinical pharmacy services in Australia. At a time when his ideas seemed bold, Alan made decisions that ultimately transformed the profession, laying foundations that continue to influence pharmacy practice today. His lectures were often stimulating and wide-ranging, where the subject matter was sometimes secondary to the lively and provocative discussions he inspired. Alan’s dedication to pharmacy education and research was matched only by his enthusiasm for engaging minds and challenging norms.
His engagement with students is perhaps best illustrated by his rather charged relationship with two students, who can be called ‘Shane’ and ‘Mark’, who introduced a certain playful irreverence into his lectures. Despite this, Alan attempted to teach them how to play golf, but apparently without outstanding success. However, both students succeeded in their subsequent professional lives, in pharmacy practice and academia (Clin Assoc Prof Shane Jackson and Prof Mark Naunton, both current national Board directors of PSA).
Research
Alan was passionate about drug – plastic interactions, on which he had done his PhD, and fostered the progress of many PhD students, often in collaboration with Michael Roberts. He encouraged research in other fields of pharmaceutical science and pharmacy practice, often in collaboration with other disciplines. As with education, Alan’s research contributions will not be forgotten.
Sporting
Alan will be remembered for his unwavering passion for the Melbourne Football Club, his early years as a gifted cricketer playing County Cricket in the UK, a talented squash player and later as a keen golfer.
Alan passed away on Monday, 14 July, 2025, after a short illness. Mary had passed away on 28 December 2021. They were a highly successful couple who contributed greatly to the pharmacy profession in Tasmania and nationally. They are survived by their daughter, Fiona, son-in-law Rob, and granddaughter, Susannah, who live in St. John's, Canada, and their son, John, who lives in Hobart.
Tributes
Here are two of the many tributes from his former students and colleagues.
‘There are lots of stories all of us could tell but, perhaps, the take home message I think all of us would agree on is that Alan provided us with positive and inspirational leadership that enabled our small school to be at the national forefront in experiential pharmacy student learning - through practitioner involvement, structured work placements, student and cognate discipline engagement, an interactive cutting edge curriculum, judicious staff appointments and the promotion of cutting edge research.’ – Professor Michael Roberts
‘He was indeed a great academic who made a difference as well as being a genuinely nice bloke.’ Professor Lloyd Sansom
[post_title] => Alan Polack, a Pioneer in Pharmacy Education
[post_excerpt] => Alan Polack helped to shape modern pharmacy education, championing clinical practice and experiential learning before they became the norm.
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[post_content] => Pharmacist scope of practice is expanding at a rapid rate. With more services, training courses and learning opportunities on offer – it can be difficult to know which direction to choose.
Australian Pharmacist spoke with Bridget Totterman MPS – multi-pharmacy owner and PSA Board Director – about how she’s paving her own path to become a pharmacist prescriber.
Tell us about your journey to becoming a prescribing pharmacist.
It’s still ongoing! I’m currently enrolled in PSA’s Pharmacist Prescribing Scope of Practice Training Program – which is in-depth, and certainly challenging, but in a good way.
I chose the PSA course because it’s self-paced and the team is so supportive. I know PSA will continue to support me through the implementation of new services, and beyond.
The training has two arms – a prescribing and clinical practice training program.
The prescribing component involves theory-based learning focused on the prescribing cycle, including information gathering, clinical decision making, communicating decisions to patients and other healthcare professionals and reviewing those decisions.
Meanwhile, the clinical component focuses on differential diagnosis. While we learn about that at uni, the clinical training takes a more rigorous approach. It reminds us of the step-by-step process, practical implications and alternative explanations for each symptom.
Even if you’re 99% confident in a patient’s diagnosis, it’s great to challenge yourself and think about what else it could be. This helps to build confidence in the diagnosis and offer the appropriate treatment plan. It also highlights red flags for certain conditions and reiterates the need for referral in these cases – ensuring we are always working as part of a broader healthcare team in the best interests of the patient.
Are you offering expanded services in your pharmacies?
Some of our pharmacists have completed the training and are already practicing as prescribing pharmacists.
As of 1 July 2025, the Queensland pharmacy prescribing pilots became permanent for listed acute conditions and medication management services, such as therapeutic substitution and adaptation, and PBS Continued Dispensing Arrangements. So appropriately trained pharmacists can prescribe hormonal contraception and medicines for a raft of acute conditions, such as ear infections and skin conditions. They can also prescribe and administer travel vaccines and provide smoking cessation and weight management services.
If someone comes into the pharmacy with shingles, our trained pharmacists can now prescribe the right treatment for the patient. We all know time is of the essence when it comes to antivirals, and if patients have to wait to see their GP, they may miss the window where treatment is effective.
What impact has this had on patients and staff?
Patients have always found pharmacy convenient. Every day of the week, patients can walk in and speak to a trained healthcare professional – no appointment needed. With expanded scope and the ability to prescribe more medicines, we now have more tools in our belt to provide quality healthcare solutions to our patients in a timely manner.
It's also great for pharmacists’ professional satisfaction. We had a team meeting at one of my pharmacies last week, and the whole team was so excited to get behind the prescribing pharmacists so we can all help patients access the healthcare they need in a timely way.
Our amazing pharmacy assistants have also jumped on board and are of vital assistance in triaging patients and letting them know care is available. It lifts everyone's confidence and reminds us why we love this profession and why we chose pharmacy in the first place – to help patients.
What would you say to pharmacists apprehensive about prescribing?
Come to PSA25! Listen to the speakers on the scope of practice panels and talk to people offering these services from different states and territories.
Back in 2014, I was lucky enough to be one of the first pharmacists to participate in the Queensland Pharmacist Immunisation Pilot, allowing us to administer flu vaccines to patients.
At the time, I had pharmacists working for me who said, ‘I’ll never be able to vaccinate. I couldn't imagine putting a needle in someone’s arm’. But now they are smashing out vaccinations. While it’s normal to be hesitant, remember that PSA has a long history of supporting pharmacists every step of the way, wherever your scope of practice takes you.
You don't have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step. And if you’re comfortable, the next step. Who knows where it'll take you.
Which aspect of scope of practice expansion excites you the most?
Helping more people, more quickly. It’s disheartening when red tape gets in the way – like when a mum walks into the pharmacy at 10:00 pm on a Friday with a sick child, no access to a GP, and you’re limited in your ability to help.
Hopefully, scope of practice expansion will help to expand the workforce by attracting more pharmacists to our profession. And if we're all doing more, that should help to improve the healthcare access crisis we're experiencing at the moment.
What services are you keen to see pharmacists branch into?
Preventative care. I think we can have a huge impact on patients’ lives through weight management and smoking cessation. We chat to people all day, every day. While they may feel uncomfortable discussing their weight in other healthcare settings, speaking with the friendly pharmacist they've seen every week for the past 20 years might put them more at ease.
Where do you see scope of practice going nationally?
I'm hoping it will be a domino effect. I don't want to see resources wasted with people trying to reinvent the wheel. Other states and other jurisdictions should adopt guidelines and protocols that have been proven to work. We need consistency across the country, and while that may take time, we should aim to make the process as seamless as possible. Let's just take what works and roll it out.
What scope of practice sessions or panels are you excited to see at PSA25?
There's so many. I always look forward to hearing from Penny Shakespeare, Deputy Secretary for Health Resourcing at the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing – who's participating in the first Policy Panel on Friday morning (1 August).
Professor Bruce Warner, Honorary Professor of Pharmacy Policy and Practice at theUniversity of Nottingham in the UK, will also be sharing his experiences from an international perspective. I love hearing from people who are actually practicing at full scope.
Pharmacists enhancing Palliative Care across the Health Neighbourhood is another session I hope pharmacists will go along to. Now that PSA’s ASPIRE Palliative Care Foundation Training Program is freely available, pharmacists interested in that field make such a difference in people's lives.
Why is it important to connect with other pharmacists at industry events like PSA25?
To connect with others in our profession. Who knows, you might meet your next employer or someone you want to go into business with. You might even end up with a lifelong mentor or a mentee. It's all about connection, positivity and uplifting each other.
Learn more about expanding your scope of practice from Bridget Totterman and others at PSA25, held in Sydney from 1–3 August. Register here to attend.
[post_title] => Taking the first steps into pharmacist prescribing
[post_excerpt] => Any pharmacist can become a pharmacist prescriber, according to this expert. Here’s how to forge your own path.
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[post_content] => A practical workflow for cancelling tokens, updating profiles and preventing repeat-token errors at every dispense.
Electronic prescriptions are safe, secure and generally convenient for patients and
health practitioners.1 This convenience largely stems from the rapid transfer of
prescriptions and their digital tokens without the need for a physical paper
prescription.
This transfer is so fast there’s often no lag between a dispensing label being printed
and the patient receiving a new repeat token on their phone via SMS. So what
happens if that repeat is sent to the wrong number?
What happens if a pharmacy sends a token to the wrong phone number?
The wrong person will receive the token. While the design of tokens (no name,
limited information) limits the likelihood of a privacy breach, it provides the recipient
with unauthorised access to the prescription (and therefore unauthorised access to
the prescribed medicine).
What can cause the token to be associated with the wrong phone number?
A person’s phone numbers in dispensing software may be incorrect when:
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[post_content] => The Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) has cracked down on medicinal cannabis, with new guidance to tighten up the rules and put practitioners ‘on notice’.
Poor prescribing practices have placed patients at significant harm, with AHPRA stepping in to remind prescribers and dispensers that medicinal cannabis should be treated as any other Controlled Drug (Schedule 8 medicine).
‘We don’t prescribe opioids to every patient who asks for them, and medicinal cannabis is no different,’ said Medical Board of Australia Chair, Dr Susan O’Dwyer. ‘Patient demand is no indicator of clinical need.’
AHPRA has already taken action against 57 medical practitioners, pharmacists and nurses over medicinal cannabis prescribing practices, with AHPRA CEO Justin Untersteiner confirming that the regulator is currently investigating 60 more.
Australian Pharmacist investigates the issue and pharmacists' obligations going forward.
Booming business, bad practice
Demand for medicinal cannabis has grown significantly in recent years. Australians spent approximately $402 million on medicinal cannabis in the first half of 2024, nearly matching the $448 million spent in all of 2023.
This surge in demand has led to a significant upswing in prescribing, with APHRA identifying eight practitioners who issued more than 10,000 scripts over a 6-month, and one who appears to have issued more than 17,000 scripts.
Nearly all medicinal cannabis products are unapproved Schedule 8 medicines, meaning prescribers must use the Special Access Scheme or Authorised Prescriber pathway to prescribe them.
But the development of closed loop arrangements, where medicinal cannabis is prescribed via telehealth appointments, has meant that the required level of scrutiny and investigation by prescribing doctors has perhaps not been conducted, said PSA National Vice President and Pharmacy Council of New South Wales Board Member Caroline Diamantis FPS.
[caption id="attachment_24130" align="alignright" width="267"] Caroline Diamantis FPS[/caption]
‘Prescribers need to assess if there is a therapeutic need for the prescription and ensure they've developed appropriate management plans.’
AHPRA has said that poor professional standards have been applied, particularly around the volume of medicinal cannabis being prescribed and dispensed.
‘They are looking for stronger safeguards around prescribing, real-time prescription monitoring (RTPM) and S8 controls – prioritising therapeutic need over commercial convenience,’ Ms Diamantis said.
The other concern is around various business models that have been ‘conveniently’ created around the demand for medicinal cannabis.
‘AHPRA’s concern is that the prescriber and dispenser obligations for therapeutic suitability have been overlooked,’ she added.
Part and parcel of this new business model is the delivery service for medicinal cannabis adopted by some pharmacists.
‘The very real concern is there's minimal human contact,’ she said. ‘The patient does not have an opportunity to speak with the dispensing pharmacist about any concerns or questions.’
A real danger for patients
Medicinal cannabis comes in various dosage formulations with various levels of activity including gummies, tinctures or vaporisers.
Patients can sometimes walk away with several different dose forms without prescribers investigating their:
‘It’s illegal in NSW to dispense an S8 unregistered item on a fax or email. YOu either need a token or a real paper script.' CAROLINE DIAMANTIS FPSHowever, pharmacists should also be aware there may be gaps in these records. While all electronic prescriptions and computer-generated paper scripts with an eScript barcode will automatically be recorded in RTPM as unapproved therapeutic goods, human coding errors mean sometimes medicinal cannabis prescription or dispense events are not visible. Other reasons the script may not be visible include:
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[post_content] => This year’s Pharmacy Shark Tank, held at PSA25 next week, is set to be a cracker – with some of the most exciting innovations yet, all powered by technology to solve real-world problems in pharmacy.
Australian Pharmacist caught up with some of the 2025 entrants to get a glimpse.
Working towards a more integrated healthcare system
As young pharmacists just entering the industry, Queensland-based brothers Alfred and Viknesh Bramasta have witnessed the errors that can occur when care is fragmented.
‘I'm currently doing my internship in a pharmacy in Queensland,’ Alfred said. ‘One of the major things we’ve seen is flaws in the software being developed, and we wanted to take the opportunity to make some improvements.’
The brothers developed a new software program, PillFlow, to record medication changes made by either GPs, hospital pharmacists or community pharmacists.
‘Right now, when a patient’s medication changes, the pharmacy and doctor often have to go back and forth by phone, email or fax just to confirm the new prescription,’ said Viknesh, a fourth-year pharmacy student who also works in a hospital pharmacy.
[caption id="attachment_29916" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Viknesh Bramasta[/caption]
[caption id="attachment_29917" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Alfred Bramasta[/caption]
Delays and communication gaps in the current process may affect both workflow efficiency and the quality of patient care.
Viknesh thinks PillFlow could change this.
‘Our main goal is to enhance patient safety,’ Viknesh said. ‘There can still be challenges in ensuring medication changes for DAA patients are clearly communicated, actioned, and recorded.’
By presenting PillFlow at Shark Tank, Alfred and Viknesh are keen to receive feedback from the judges and audience.
‘It’s a great avenue for us to test and share our idea directly with pharmacists,’ Viknesh said. ‘PSA has made the process really easy.’
Software developments are key to making pharmacists’ workloads more tolerable and improving medicine safety, Alfred said.
‘There's a lot that can be done to improve the workflow in community pharmacy, and innovation will be the main thing to ensure patients get the best benefit.’
Streamlining pharmacy workflows
After 5 years in community pharmacy, early career pharmacist Eric Khek has seen firsthand just how short-staffed the profession can be – especially during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic.
‘So I've always been interested in how to improve efficiencies in the pharmacy,’ he said.
To do this, Eric created a self-service kiosk system to automate pharmacy processes.
‘When a patient presents to the pharmacy with an eScript, they can scan the eRx [barcode] and answer a couple of questions pharmacy assistants usually ask,’ he said.
[caption id="attachment_29921" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Eric Khek[/caption]
The system also serves as a triage for minor ailments.
‘If a patient presents with a cough, for example, the self-service kiosk will activate a cough protocol and ask screening questions that you would find in the Australian Pharmaceutical Formulary and Handbook related to cough, such as “Do you have any breathing difficulties?” or “Are you coughing out any blood?”’
Through this innovation, Eric is hoping to not only improve pharmacy workflows but staff stress levels also.
‘We can miss asking important questions during stressful times which could potentially lead to medication errors,’ he said.
Entering Shark Tank should open up network opportunities, Eric thinks.
‘Hopefully I’ll be able to meet like-minded people to collaborate with me and take this product to the next level,’ he said.
With technology evolving at a rapid rate, it’s important that the pharmacy profession keeps up. ‘Around 40–50 years ago, we didn't even have a computer for dispensing,’ Eric said. ‘Harnessing the power of technology makes our lives easier.’
Enhancing learning with AI
Pharmacist and clinical educator Krysti-Lee Patterson MPS is leveraging the power of AI to improve how pharmacy students learn and prepare to practice as registered pharmacists.
Her innovation, The SMART project – an AI model used by the University of Technology Sydney – allows students to practise exam simulations with case scenarios.
‘We’ve essentially created ChatGPT for pharmacists,’ she said. ‘Using our AI models, we feed the platform with case scenarios that the lecturers have created – allowing the students to be able to practice under exam conditions.’
[caption id="attachment_21130" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Krysti-Lee Patterson MPS[/caption]
The SMART project is designed to both save university staff time and improve pharmacy curricula.
‘The head of Pharmacy at UTS explained that a key challenge is that they're too low on time to be able to do one-on-one training or coaching with their students,’ Krysti-Lee said. ‘So one of the problems we’re trying to solve is saving time without reducing quality.’
Academics can also use data collected from the model to assess whether students are asking the same questions, and address any gaps in the course.
‘The next phase, which we're working on now, will actually allow you to speak to it – so students can practise their oral exams via our platform.’
With pharmacy being a heavily regulated industry, which can be adverse to risk and change, it’s important to showcase the innovations of budding entrepreneurs to strengthen the profession.
‘It's going to make things more efficient, have better outcomes for patients, and ultimately, make a difference to the health of Australians,’ Krysti-Lee said.
Catch the pitches of these three innovations at PSA25’s Pharmacy Shark Tank happening from 3:20 PM - 4:20 PM on Friday 1 August. Last minute registrations are closing soon, visit the PSA25 website to grab yours before it's too late.
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[post_excerpt] => This year’s Pharmacy Shark Tank, held at PSA25 next week, is set to be a cracker – with some of the most exciting innovations yet.
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[post_content] => Today, a visit to the pharmacy is likely to go beyond the supply of medicines to include a possibly detailed discussion of their usage and potential problems, as well as an increasing number of clinical services such as prescribing medications for certain infections and allergies, and selected vaccinations.
These clinical activities that provide information and services have developed over several decades in response to the needs of the community and developed because of the concerted efforts of pharmacy educators and practitioners.
The idea of what was first called ‘office-based pharmacy’ was being promoted in the 1970s by practitioners including Colin Trevena in Boorowa (NSW) and Eugene White, author of The Office-Based Family Pharmacist (Berryville VA, USA, 1978). Alan Polack, as Head of the Tasmanian School of Pharmacy, shared this vision and had the opportunity and commitment to carry this into effect.
[caption id="attachment_29926" align="aligncenter" width="400"] Alan Polack[/caption]
Life
Alan grew up in South Africa and studied pharmacy at Rhodes University (B.Sc (Pharm)). He was very opposed to the apartheid system which in the 1960s could bring trouble with the police so, after the passing of his mother, he went to the UK. In London he met Mary Moore, a Tasmanian pharmacist, and they kept in touch after he moved to Australia for further studies (M.Pharm (Syd) and PhD (Adel)). He and Mary married in 1967 and moved from Adelaide to Hobart in 1971 where Alan joined the new tertiary-level School of Pharmacy at the Tasmanian College of Advanced Education. He became Head in 1973 and continued in that position after the school moved to the University of Tasmania in 1978, until he stepped down in 1995. Mary Polack began a successful career in the Pharmaceutical Society where, amongst other achievements, she pioneered the Self Care Program and was in 2007 awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM).
Alan had a passionate vision for Australian community pharmacy that seemed quite fanciful at the time. In part, it was influenced by study leave in the USA, seeing their clinical pharmacy services (mainly in the hospital setting) provided by growing numbers of PharmD graduates. As the Head of School, Alan drove the practice focus of the BPharm course. Key to this were two clinical specialists. Bill Friesen, a Canadian with experience working in the USA with PharmD clinical pharmacists, gave university courses in pathology and therapeutics. George Taylor, who had developed clinical expertise as a pharmacist working on wards at the Royal Hobart Hospital, took students on rounds for their practical experience. In addition, students increasingly spent significant hours in placements in community and hospital pharmacies. This was made possible by the many pharmacists who took on the role of tutor in a generous contribution to the development of their profession. The Tasmanian School was well ahead of others nationally in this respect, with our graduates highly regarded.
Teaching
Alan will be fondly remembered by many in the pharmacy profession. His legacy is deeply woven into the BPharm program here at UTAS, where his vision and strategic foresight helped shape clinical pharmacy services in Australia. At a time when his ideas seemed bold, Alan made decisions that ultimately transformed the profession, laying foundations that continue to influence pharmacy practice today. His lectures were often stimulating and wide-ranging, where the subject matter was sometimes secondary to the lively and provocative discussions he inspired. Alan’s dedication to pharmacy education and research was matched only by his enthusiasm for engaging minds and challenging norms.
His engagement with students is perhaps best illustrated by his rather charged relationship with two students, who can be called ‘Shane’ and ‘Mark’, who introduced a certain playful irreverence into his lectures. Despite this, Alan attempted to teach them how to play golf, but apparently without outstanding success. However, both students succeeded in their subsequent professional lives, in pharmacy practice and academia (Clin Assoc Prof Shane Jackson and Prof Mark Naunton, both current national Board directors of PSA).
Research
Alan was passionate about drug – plastic interactions, on which he had done his PhD, and fostered the progress of many PhD students, often in collaboration with Michael Roberts. He encouraged research in other fields of pharmaceutical science and pharmacy practice, often in collaboration with other disciplines. As with education, Alan’s research contributions will not be forgotten.
Sporting
Alan will be remembered for his unwavering passion for the Melbourne Football Club, his early years as a gifted cricketer playing County Cricket in the UK, a talented squash player and later as a keen golfer.
Alan passed away on Monday, 14 July, 2025, after a short illness. Mary had passed away on 28 December 2021. They were a highly successful couple who contributed greatly to the pharmacy profession in Tasmania and nationally. They are survived by their daughter, Fiona, son-in-law Rob, and granddaughter, Susannah, who live in St. John's, Canada, and their son, John, who lives in Hobart.
Tributes
Here are two of the many tributes from his former students and colleagues.
‘There are lots of stories all of us could tell but, perhaps, the take home message I think all of us would agree on is that Alan provided us with positive and inspirational leadership that enabled our small school to be at the national forefront in experiential pharmacy student learning - through practitioner involvement, structured work placements, student and cognate discipline engagement, an interactive cutting edge curriculum, judicious staff appointments and the promotion of cutting edge research.’ – Professor Michael Roberts
‘He was indeed a great academic who made a difference as well as being a genuinely nice bloke.’ Professor Lloyd Sansom
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[post_excerpt] => Alan Polack helped to shape modern pharmacy education, championing clinical practice and experiential learning before they became the norm.
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[post_content] => Pharmacist scope of practice is expanding at a rapid rate. With more services, training courses and learning opportunities on offer – it can be difficult to know which direction to choose.
Australian Pharmacist spoke with Bridget Totterman MPS – multi-pharmacy owner and PSA Board Director – about how she’s paving her own path to become a pharmacist prescriber.
Tell us about your journey to becoming a prescribing pharmacist.
It’s still ongoing! I’m currently enrolled in PSA’s Pharmacist Prescribing Scope of Practice Training Program – which is in-depth, and certainly challenging, but in a good way.
I chose the PSA course because it’s self-paced and the team is so supportive. I know PSA will continue to support me through the implementation of new services, and beyond.
The training has two arms – a prescribing and clinical practice training program.
The prescribing component involves theory-based learning focused on the prescribing cycle, including information gathering, clinical decision making, communicating decisions to patients and other healthcare professionals and reviewing those decisions.
Meanwhile, the clinical component focuses on differential diagnosis. While we learn about that at uni, the clinical training takes a more rigorous approach. It reminds us of the step-by-step process, practical implications and alternative explanations for each symptom.
Even if you’re 99% confident in a patient’s diagnosis, it’s great to challenge yourself and think about what else it could be. This helps to build confidence in the diagnosis and offer the appropriate treatment plan. It also highlights red flags for certain conditions and reiterates the need for referral in these cases – ensuring we are always working as part of a broader healthcare team in the best interests of the patient.
Are you offering expanded services in your pharmacies?
Some of our pharmacists have completed the training and are already practicing as prescribing pharmacists.
As of 1 July 2025, the Queensland pharmacy prescribing pilots became permanent for listed acute conditions and medication management services, such as therapeutic substitution and adaptation, and PBS Continued Dispensing Arrangements. So appropriately trained pharmacists can prescribe hormonal contraception and medicines for a raft of acute conditions, such as ear infections and skin conditions. They can also prescribe and administer travel vaccines and provide smoking cessation and weight management services.
If someone comes into the pharmacy with shingles, our trained pharmacists can now prescribe the right treatment for the patient. We all know time is of the essence when it comes to antivirals, and if patients have to wait to see their GP, they may miss the window where treatment is effective.
What impact has this had on patients and staff?
Patients have always found pharmacy convenient. Every day of the week, patients can walk in and speak to a trained healthcare professional – no appointment needed. With expanded scope and the ability to prescribe more medicines, we now have more tools in our belt to provide quality healthcare solutions to our patients in a timely manner.
It's also great for pharmacists’ professional satisfaction. We had a team meeting at one of my pharmacies last week, and the whole team was so excited to get behind the prescribing pharmacists so we can all help patients access the healthcare they need in a timely way.
Our amazing pharmacy assistants have also jumped on board and are of vital assistance in triaging patients and letting them know care is available. It lifts everyone's confidence and reminds us why we love this profession and why we chose pharmacy in the first place – to help patients.
What would you say to pharmacists apprehensive about prescribing?
Come to PSA25! Listen to the speakers on the scope of practice panels and talk to people offering these services from different states and territories.
Back in 2014, I was lucky enough to be one of the first pharmacists to participate in the Queensland Pharmacist Immunisation Pilot, allowing us to administer flu vaccines to patients.
At the time, I had pharmacists working for me who said, ‘I’ll never be able to vaccinate. I couldn't imagine putting a needle in someone’s arm’. But now they are smashing out vaccinations. While it’s normal to be hesitant, remember that PSA has a long history of supporting pharmacists every step of the way, wherever your scope of practice takes you.
You don't have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step. And if you’re comfortable, the next step. Who knows where it'll take you.
Which aspect of scope of practice expansion excites you the most?
Helping more people, more quickly. It’s disheartening when red tape gets in the way – like when a mum walks into the pharmacy at 10:00 pm on a Friday with a sick child, no access to a GP, and you’re limited in your ability to help.
Hopefully, scope of practice expansion will help to expand the workforce by attracting more pharmacists to our profession. And if we're all doing more, that should help to improve the healthcare access crisis we're experiencing at the moment.
What services are you keen to see pharmacists branch into?
Preventative care. I think we can have a huge impact on patients’ lives through weight management and smoking cessation. We chat to people all day, every day. While they may feel uncomfortable discussing their weight in other healthcare settings, speaking with the friendly pharmacist they've seen every week for the past 20 years might put them more at ease.
Where do you see scope of practice going nationally?
I'm hoping it will be a domino effect. I don't want to see resources wasted with people trying to reinvent the wheel. Other states and other jurisdictions should adopt guidelines and protocols that have been proven to work. We need consistency across the country, and while that may take time, we should aim to make the process as seamless as possible. Let's just take what works and roll it out.
What scope of practice sessions or panels are you excited to see at PSA25?
There's so many. I always look forward to hearing from Penny Shakespeare, Deputy Secretary for Health Resourcing at the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing – who's participating in the first Policy Panel on Friday morning (1 August).
Professor Bruce Warner, Honorary Professor of Pharmacy Policy and Practice at theUniversity of Nottingham in the UK, will also be sharing his experiences from an international perspective. I love hearing from people who are actually practicing at full scope.
Pharmacists enhancing Palliative Care across the Health Neighbourhood is another session I hope pharmacists will go along to. Now that PSA’s ASPIRE Palliative Care Foundation Training Program is freely available, pharmacists interested in that field make such a difference in people's lives.
Why is it important to connect with other pharmacists at industry events like PSA25?
To connect with others in our profession. Who knows, you might meet your next employer or someone you want to go into business with. You might even end up with a lifelong mentor or a mentee. It's all about connection, positivity and uplifting each other.
Learn more about expanding your scope of practice from Bridget Totterman and others at PSA25, held in Sydney from 1–3 August. Register here to attend.
[post_title] => Taking the first steps into pharmacist prescribing
[post_excerpt] => Any pharmacist can become a pharmacist prescriber, according to this expert. Here’s how to forge your own path.
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[post_content] => A practical workflow for cancelling tokens, updating profiles and preventing repeat-token errors at every dispense.
Electronic prescriptions are safe, secure and generally convenient for patients and
health practitioners.1 This convenience largely stems from the rapid transfer of
prescriptions and their digital tokens without the need for a physical paper
prescription.
This transfer is so fast there’s often no lag between a dispensing label being printed
and the patient receiving a new repeat token on their phone via SMS. So what
happens if that repeat is sent to the wrong number?
What happens if a pharmacy sends a token to the wrong phone number?
The wrong person will receive the token. While the design of tokens (no name,
limited information) limits the likelihood of a privacy breach, it provides the recipient
with unauthorised access to the prescription (and therefore unauthorised access to
the prescribed medicine).
What can cause the token to be associated with the wrong phone number?
A person’s phone numbers in dispensing software may be incorrect when:
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[post_content] => The Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) has cracked down on medicinal cannabis, with new guidance to tighten up the rules and put practitioners ‘on notice’.
Poor prescribing practices have placed patients at significant harm, with AHPRA stepping in to remind prescribers and dispensers that medicinal cannabis should be treated as any other Controlled Drug (Schedule 8 medicine).
‘We don’t prescribe opioids to every patient who asks for them, and medicinal cannabis is no different,’ said Medical Board of Australia Chair, Dr Susan O’Dwyer. ‘Patient demand is no indicator of clinical need.’
AHPRA has already taken action against 57 medical practitioners, pharmacists and nurses over medicinal cannabis prescribing practices, with AHPRA CEO Justin Untersteiner confirming that the regulator is currently investigating 60 more.
Australian Pharmacist investigates the issue and pharmacists' obligations going forward.
Booming business, bad practice
Demand for medicinal cannabis has grown significantly in recent years. Australians spent approximately $402 million on medicinal cannabis in the first half of 2024, nearly matching the $448 million spent in all of 2023.
This surge in demand has led to a significant upswing in prescribing, with APHRA identifying eight practitioners who issued more than 10,000 scripts over a 6-month, and one who appears to have issued more than 17,000 scripts.
Nearly all medicinal cannabis products are unapproved Schedule 8 medicines, meaning prescribers must use the Special Access Scheme or Authorised Prescriber pathway to prescribe them.
But the development of closed loop arrangements, where medicinal cannabis is prescribed via telehealth appointments, has meant that the required level of scrutiny and investigation by prescribing doctors has perhaps not been conducted, said PSA National Vice President and Pharmacy Council of New South Wales Board Member Caroline Diamantis FPS.
[caption id="attachment_24130" align="alignright" width="267"] Caroline Diamantis FPS[/caption]
‘Prescribers need to assess if there is a therapeutic need for the prescription and ensure they've developed appropriate management plans.’
AHPRA has said that poor professional standards have been applied, particularly around the volume of medicinal cannabis being prescribed and dispensed.
‘They are looking for stronger safeguards around prescribing, real-time prescription monitoring (RTPM) and S8 controls – prioritising therapeutic need over commercial convenience,’ Ms Diamantis said.
The other concern is around various business models that have been ‘conveniently’ created around the demand for medicinal cannabis.
‘AHPRA’s concern is that the prescriber and dispenser obligations for therapeutic suitability have been overlooked,’ she added.
Part and parcel of this new business model is the delivery service for medicinal cannabis adopted by some pharmacists.
‘The very real concern is there's minimal human contact,’ she said. ‘The patient does not have an opportunity to speak with the dispensing pharmacist about any concerns or questions.’
A real danger for patients
Medicinal cannabis comes in various dosage formulations with various levels of activity including gummies, tinctures or vaporisers.
Patients can sometimes walk away with several different dose forms without prescribers investigating their:
‘It’s illegal in NSW to dispense an S8 unregistered item on a fax or email. YOu either need a token or a real paper script.' CAROLINE DIAMANTIS FPSHowever, pharmacists should also be aware there may be gaps in these records. While all electronic prescriptions and computer-generated paper scripts with an eScript barcode will automatically be recorded in RTPM as unapproved therapeutic goods, human coding errors mean sometimes medicinal cannabis prescription or dispense events are not visible. Other reasons the script may not be visible include:
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[post_content] => This year’s Pharmacy Shark Tank, held at PSA25 next week, is set to be a cracker – with some of the most exciting innovations yet, all powered by technology to solve real-world problems in pharmacy.
Australian Pharmacist caught up with some of the 2025 entrants to get a glimpse.
Working towards a more integrated healthcare system
As young pharmacists just entering the industry, Queensland-based brothers Alfred and Viknesh Bramasta have witnessed the errors that can occur when care is fragmented.
‘I'm currently doing my internship in a pharmacy in Queensland,’ Alfred said. ‘One of the major things we’ve seen is flaws in the software being developed, and we wanted to take the opportunity to make some improvements.’
The brothers developed a new software program, PillFlow, to record medication changes made by either GPs, hospital pharmacists or community pharmacists.
‘Right now, when a patient’s medication changes, the pharmacy and doctor often have to go back and forth by phone, email or fax just to confirm the new prescription,’ said Viknesh, a fourth-year pharmacy student who also works in a hospital pharmacy.
[caption id="attachment_29916" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Viknesh Bramasta[/caption]
[caption id="attachment_29917" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Alfred Bramasta[/caption]
Delays and communication gaps in the current process may affect both workflow efficiency and the quality of patient care.
Viknesh thinks PillFlow could change this.
‘Our main goal is to enhance patient safety,’ Viknesh said. ‘There can still be challenges in ensuring medication changes for DAA patients are clearly communicated, actioned, and recorded.’
By presenting PillFlow at Shark Tank, Alfred and Viknesh are keen to receive feedback from the judges and audience.
‘It’s a great avenue for us to test and share our idea directly with pharmacists,’ Viknesh said. ‘PSA has made the process really easy.’
Software developments are key to making pharmacists’ workloads more tolerable and improving medicine safety, Alfred said.
‘There's a lot that can be done to improve the workflow in community pharmacy, and innovation will be the main thing to ensure patients get the best benefit.’
Streamlining pharmacy workflows
After 5 years in community pharmacy, early career pharmacist Eric Khek has seen firsthand just how short-staffed the profession can be – especially during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic.
‘So I've always been interested in how to improve efficiencies in the pharmacy,’ he said.
To do this, Eric created a self-service kiosk system to automate pharmacy processes.
‘When a patient presents to the pharmacy with an eScript, they can scan the eRx [barcode] and answer a couple of questions pharmacy assistants usually ask,’ he said.
[caption id="attachment_29921" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Eric Khek[/caption]
The system also serves as a triage for minor ailments.
‘If a patient presents with a cough, for example, the self-service kiosk will activate a cough protocol and ask screening questions that you would find in the Australian Pharmaceutical Formulary and Handbook related to cough, such as “Do you have any breathing difficulties?” or “Are you coughing out any blood?”’
Through this innovation, Eric is hoping to not only improve pharmacy workflows but staff stress levels also.
‘We can miss asking important questions during stressful times which could potentially lead to medication errors,’ he said.
Entering Shark Tank should open up network opportunities, Eric thinks.
‘Hopefully I’ll be able to meet like-minded people to collaborate with me and take this product to the next level,’ he said.
With technology evolving at a rapid rate, it’s important that the pharmacy profession keeps up. ‘Around 40–50 years ago, we didn't even have a computer for dispensing,’ Eric said. ‘Harnessing the power of technology makes our lives easier.’
Enhancing learning with AI
Pharmacist and clinical educator Krysti-Lee Patterson MPS is leveraging the power of AI to improve how pharmacy students learn and prepare to practice as registered pharmacists.
Her innovation, The SMART project – an AI model used by the University of Technology Sydney – allows students to practise exam simulations with case scenarios.
‘We’ve essentially created ChatGPT for pharmacists,’ she said. ‘Using our AI models, we feed the platform with case scenarios that the lecturers have created – allowing the students to be able to practice under exam conditions.’
[caption id="attachment_21130" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Krysti-Lee Patterson MPS[/caption]
The SMART project is designed to both save university staff time and improve pharmacy curricula.
‘The head of Pharmacy at UTS explained that a key challenge is that they're too low on time to be able to do one-on-one training or coaching with their students,’ Krysti-Lee said. ‘So one of the problems we’re trying to solve is saving time without reducing quality.’
Academics can also use data collected from the model to assess whether students are asking the same questions, and address any gaps in the course.
‘The next phase, which we're working on now, will actually allow you to speak to it – so students can practise their oral exams via our platform.’
With pharmacy being a heavily regulated industry, which can be adverse to risk and change, it’s important to showcase the innovations of budding entrepreneurs to strengthen the profession.
‘It's going to make things more efficient, have better outcomes for patients, and ultimately, make a difference to the health of Australians,’ Krysti-Lee said.
Catch the pitches of these three innovations at PSA25’s Pharmacy Shark Tank happening from 3:20 PM - 4:20 PM on Friday 1 August. Last minute registrations are closing soon, visit the PSA25 website to grab yours before it's too late.
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[post_content] => Today, a visit to the pharmacy is likely to go beyond the supply of medicines to include a possibly detailed discussion of their usage and potential problems, as well as an increasing number of clinical services such as prescribing medications for certain infections and allergies, and selected vaccinations.
These clinical activities that provide information and services have developed over several decades in response to the needs of the community and developed because of the concerted efforts of pharmacy educators and practitioners.
The idea of what was first called ‘office-based pharmacy’ was being promoted in the 1970s by practitioners including Colin Trevena in Boorowa (NSW) and Eugene White, author of The Office-Based Family Pharmacist (Berryville VA, USA, 1978). Alan Polack, as Head of the Tasmanian School of Pharmacy, shared this vision and had the opportunity and commitment to carry this into effect.
[caption id="attachment_29926" align="aligncenter" width="400"] Alan Polack[/caption]
Life
Alan grew up in South Africa and studied pharmacy at Rhodes University (B.Sc (Pharm)). He was very opposed to the apartheid system which in the 1960s could bring trouble with the police so, after the passing of his mother, he went to the UK. In London he met Mary Moore, a Tasmanian pharmacist, and they kept in touch after he moved to Australia for further studies (M.Pharm (Syd) and PhD (Adel)). He and Mary married in 1967 and moved from Adelaide to Hobart in 1971 where Alan joined the new tertiary-level School of Pharmacy at the Tasmanian College of Advanced Education. He became Head in 1973 and continued in that position after the school moved to the University of Tasmania in 1978, until he stepped down in 1995. Mary Polack began a successful career in the Pharmaceutical Society where, amongst other achievements, she pioneered the Self Care Program and was in 2007 awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM).
Alan had a passionate vision for Australian community pharmacy that seemed quite fanciful at the time. In part, it was influenced by study leave in the USA, seeing their clinical pharmacy services (mainly in the hospital setting) provided by growing numbers of PharmD graduates. As the Head of School, Alan drove the practice focus of the BPharm course. Key to this were two clinical specialists. Bill Friesen, a Canadian with experience working in the USA with PharmD clinical pharmacists, gave university courses in pathology and therapeutics. George Taylor, who had developed clinical expertise as a pharmacist working on wards at the Royal Hobart Hospital, took students on rounds for their practical experience. In addition, students increasingly spent significant hours in placements in community and hospital pharmacies. This was made possible by the many pharmacists who took on the role of tutor in a generous contribution to the development of their profession. The Tasmanian School was well ahead of others nationally in this respect, with our graduates highly regarded.
Teaching
Alan will be fondly remembered by many in the pharmacy profession. His legacy is deeply woven into the BPharm program here at UTAS, where his vision and strategic foresight helped shape clinical pharmacy services in Australia. At a time when his ideas seemed bold, Alan made decisions that ultimately transformed the profession, laying foundations that continue to influence pharmacy practice today. His lectures were often stimulating and wide-ranging, where the subject matter was sometimes secondary to the lively and provocative discussions he inspired. Alan’s dedication to pharmacy education and research was matched only by his enthusiasm for engaging minds and challenging norms.
His engagement with students is perhaps best illustrated by his rather charged relationship with two students, who can be called ‘Shane’ and ‘Mark’, who introduced a certain playful irreverence into his lectures. Despite this, Alan attempted to teach them how to play golf, but apparently without outstanding success. However, both students succeeded in their subsequent professional lives, in pharmacy practice and academia (Clin Assoc Prof Shane Jackson and Prof Mark Naunton, both current national Board directors of PSA).
Research
Alan was passionate about drug – plastic interactions, on which he had done his PhD, and fostered the progress of many PhD students, often in collaboration with Michael Roberts. He encouraged research in other fields of pharmaceutical science and pharmacy practice, often in collaboration with other disciplines. As with education, Alan’s research contributions will not be forgotten.
Sporting
Alan will be remembered for his unwavering passion for the Melbourne Football Club, his early years as a gifted cricketer playing County Cricket in the UK, a talented squash player and later as a keen golfer.
Alan passed away on Monday, 14 July, 2025, after a short illness. Mary had passed away on 28 December 2021. They were a highly successful couple who contributed greatly to the pharmacy profession in Tasmania and nationally. They are survived by their daughter, Fiona, son-in-law Rob, and granddaughter, Susannah, who live in St. John's, Canada, and their son, John, who lives in Hobart.
Tributes
Here are two of the many tributes from his former students and colleagues.
‘There are lots of stories all of us could tell but, perhaps, the take home message I think all of us would agree on is that Alan provided us with positive and inspirational leadership that enabled our small school to be at the national forefront in experiential pharmacy student learning - through practitioner involvement, structured work placements, student and cognate discipline engagement, an interactive cutting edge curriculum, judicious staff appointments and the promotion of cutting edge research.’ – Professor Michael Roberts
‘He was indeed a great academic who made a difference as well as being a genuinely nice bloke.’ Professor Lloyd Sansom
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[post_content] => Pharmacist scope of practice is expanding at a rapid rate. With more services, training courses and learning opportunities on offer – it can be difficult to know which direction to choose.
Australian Pharmacist spoke with Bridget Totterman MPS – multi-pharmacy owner and PSA Board Director – about how she’s paving her own path to become a pharmacist prescriber.
Tell us about your journey to becoming a prescribing pharmacist.
It’s still ongoing! I’m currently enrolled in PSA’s Pharmacist Prescribing Scope of Practice Training Program – which is in-depth, and certainly challenging, but in a good way.
I chose the PSA course because it’s self-paced and the team is so supportive. I know PSA will continue to support me through the implementation of new services, and beyond.
The training has two arms – a prescribing and clinical practice training program.
The prescribing component involves theory-based learning focused on the prescribing cycle, including information gathering, clinical decision making, communicating decisions to patients and other healthcare professionals and reviewing those decisions.
Meanwhile, the clinical component focuses on differential diagnosis. While we learn about that at uni, the clinical training takes a more rigorous approach. It reminds us of the step-by-step process, practical implications and alternative explanations for each symptom.
Even if you’re 99% confident in a patient’s diagnosis, it’s great to challenge yourself and think about what else it could be. This helps to build confidence in the diagnosis and offer the appropriate treatment plan. It also highlights red flags for certain conditions and reiterates the need for referral in these cases – ensuring we are always working as part of a broader healthcare team in the best interests of the patient.
Are you offering expanded services in your pharmacies?
Some of our pharmacists have completed the training and are already practicing as prescribing pharmacists.
As of 1 July 2025, the Queensland pharmacy prescribing pilots became permanent for listed acute conditions and medication management services, such as therapeutic substitution and adaptation, and PBS Continued Dispensing Arrangements. So appropriately trained pharmacists can prescribe hormonal contraception and medicines for a raft of acute conditions, such as ear infections and skin conditions. They can also prescribe and administer travel vaccines and provide smoking cessation and weight management services.
If someone comes into the pharmacy with shingles, our trained pharmacists can now prescribe the right treatment for the patient. We all know time is of the essence when it comes to antivirals, and if patients have to wait to see their GP, they may miss the window where treatment is effective.
What impact has this had on patients and staff?
Patients have always found pharmacy convenient. Every day of the week, patients can walk in and speak to a trained healthcare professional – no appointment needed. With expanded scope and the ability to prescribe more medicines, we now have more tools in our belt to provide quality healthcare solutions to our patients in a timely manner.
It's also great for pharmacists’ professional satisfaction. We had a team meeting at one of my pharmacies last week, and the whole team was so excited to get behind the prescribing pharmacists so we can all help patients access the healthcare they need in a timely way.
Our amazing pharmacy assistants have also jumped on board and are of vital assistance in triaging patients and letting them know care is available. It lifts everyone's confidence and reminds us why we love this profession and why we chose pharmacy in the first place – to help patients.
What would you say to pharmacists apprehensive about prescribing?
Come to PSA25! Listen to the speakers on the scope of practice panels and talk to people offering these services from different states and territories.
Back in 2014, I was lucky enough to be one of the first pharmacists to participate in the Queensland Pharmacist Immunisation Pilot, allowing us to administer flu vaccines to patients.
At the time, I had pharmacists working for me who said, ‘I’ll never be able to vaccinate. I couldn't imagine putting a needle in someone’s arm’. But now they are smashing out vaccinations. While it’s normal to be hesitant, remember that PSA has a long history of supporting pharmacists every step of the way, wherever your scope of practice takes you.
You don't have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step. And if you’re comfortable, the next step. Who knows where it'll take you.
Which aspect of scope of practice expansion excites you the most?
Helping more people, more quickly. It’s disheartening when red tape gets in the way – like when a mum walks into the pharmacy at 10:00 pm on a Friday with a sick child, no access to a GP, and you’re limited in your ability to help.
Hopefully, scope of practice expansion will help to expand the workforce by attracting more pharmacists to our profession. And if we're all doing more, that should help to improve the healthcare access crisis we're experiencing at the moment.
What services are you keen to see pharmacists branch into?
Preventative care. I think we can have a huge impact on patients’ lives through weight management and smoking cessation. We chat to people all day, every day. While they may feel uncomfortable discussing their weight in other healthcare settings, speaking with the friendly pharmacist they've seen every week for the past 20 years might put them more at ease.
Where do you see scope of practice going nationally?
I'm hoping it will be a domino effect. I don't want to see resources wasted with people trying to reinvent the wheel. Other states and other jurisdictions should adopt guidelines and protocols that have been proven to work. We need consistency across the country, and while that may take time, we should aim to make the process as seamless as possible. Let's just take what works and roll it out.
What scope of practice sessions or panels are you excited to see at PSA25?
There's so many. I always look forward to hearing from Penny Shakespeare, Deputy Secretary for Health Resourcing at the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing – who's participating in the first Policy Panel on Friday morning (1 August).
Professor Bruce Warner, Honorary Professor of Pharmacy Policy and Practice at theUniversity of Nottingham in the UK, will also be sharing his experiences from an international perspective. I love hearing from people who are actually practicing at full scope.
Pharmacists enhancing Palliative Care across the Health Neighbourhood is another session I hope pharmacists will go along to. Now that PSA’s ASPIRE Palliative Care Foundation Training Program is freely available, pharmacists interested in that field make such a difference in people's lives.
Why is it important to connect with other pharmacists at industry events like PSA25?
To connect with others in our profession. Who knows, you might meet your next employer or someone you want to go into business with. You might even end up with a lifelong mentor or a mentee. It's all about connection, positivity and uplifting each other.
Learn more about expanding your scope of practice from Bridget Totterman and others at PSA25, held in Sydney from 1–3 August. Register here to attend.
[post_title] => Taking the first steps into pharmacist prescribing
[post_excerpt] => Any pharmacist can become a pharmacist prescriber, according to this expert. Here’s how to forge your own path.
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[post_content] => A practical workflow for cancelling tokens, updating profiles and preventing repeat-token errors at every dispense.
Electronic prescriptions are safe, secure and generally convenient for patients and
health practitioners.1 This convenience largely stems from the rapid transfer of
prescriptions and their digital tokens without the need for a physical paper
prescription.
This transfer is so fast there’s often no lag between a dispensing label being printed
and the patient receiving a new repeat token on their phone via SMS. So what
happens if that repeat is sent to the wrong number?
What happens if a pharmacy sends a token to the wrong phone number?
The wrong person will receive the token. While the design of tokens (no name,
limited information) limits the likelihood of a privacy breach, it provides the recipient
with unauthorised access to the prescription (and therefore unauthorised access to
the prescribed medicine).
What can cause the token to be associated with the wrong phone number?
A person’s phone numbers in dispensing software may be incorrect when:
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[post_content] => The Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) has cracked down on medicinal cannabis, with new guidance to tighten up the rules and put practitioners ‘on notice’.
Poor prescribing practices have placed patients at significant harm, with AHPRA stepping in to remind prescribers and dispensers that medicinal cannabis should be treated as any other Controlled Drug (Schedule 8 medicine).
‘We don’t prescribe opioids to every patient who asks for them, and medicinal cannabis is no different,’ said Medical Board of Australia Chair, Dr Susan O’Dwyer. ‘Patient demand is no indicator of clinical need.’
AHPRA has already taken action against 57 medical practitioners, pharmacists and nurses over medicinal cannabis prescribing practices, with AHPRA CEO Justin Untersteiner confirming that the regulator is currently investigating 60 more.
Australian Pharmacist investigates the issue and pharmacists' obligations going forward.
Booming business, bad practice
Demand for medicinal cannabis has grown significantly in recent years. Australians spent approximately $402 million on medicinal cannabis in the first half of 2024, nearly matching the $448 million spent in all of 2023.
This surge in demand has led to a significant upswing in prescribing, with APHRA identifying eight practitioners who issued more than 10,000 scripts over a 6-month, and one who appears to have issued more than 17,000 scripts.
Nearly all medicinal cannabis products are unapproved Schedule 8 medicines, meaning prescribers must use the Special Access Scheme or Authorised Prescriber pathway to prescribe them.
But the development of closed loop arrangements, where medicinal cannabis is prescribed via telehealth appointments, has meant that the required level of scrutiny and investigation by prescribing doctors has perhaps not been conducted, said PSA National Vice President and Pharmacy Council of New South Wales Board Member Caroline Diamantis FPS.
[caption id="attachment_24130" align="alignright" width="267"] Caroline Diamantis FPS[/caption]
‘Prescribers need to assess if there is a therapeutic need for the prescription and ensure they've developed appropriate management plans.’
AHPRA has said that poor professional standards have been applied, particularly around the volume of medicinal cannabis being prescribed and dispensed.
‘They are looking for stronger safeguards around prescribing, real-time prescription monitoring (RTPM) and S8 controls – prioritising therapeutic need over commercial convenience,’ Ms Diamantis said.
The other concern is around various business models that have been ‘conveniently’ created around the demand for medicinal cannabis.
‘AHPRA’s concern is that the prescriber and dispenser obligations for therapeutic suitability have been overlooked,’ she added.
Part and parcel of this new business model is the delivery service for medicinal cannabis adopted by some pharmacists.
‘The very real concern is there's minimal human contact,’ she said. ‘The patient does not have an opportunity to speak with the dispensing pharmacist about any concerns or questions.’
A real danger for patients
Medicinal cannabis comes in various dosage formulations with various levels of activity including gummies, tinctures or vaporisers.
Patients can sometimes walk away with several different dose forms without prescribers investigating their:
‘It’s illegal in NSW to dispense an S8 unregistered item on a fax or email. YOu either need a token or a real paper script.' CAROLINE DIAMANTIS FPSHowever, pharmacists should also be aware there may be gaps in these records. While all electronic prescriptions and computer-generated paper scripts with an eScript barcode will automatically be recorded in RTPM as unapproved therapeutic goods, human coding errors mean sometimes medicinal cannabis prescription or dispense events are not visible. Other reasons the script may not be visible include:
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Australian Pharmacist is the official journal for Pharmaceutical Society of Australia Ltd.
