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[post_content] => What drew you to education?
As a pharmacist, I often saw that challenges in healthcare weren’t just about theoretical or clinical knowledge – but about communication, teamwork and systems. That made me curious about how we prepare people for practice. I became interested in how learning experiences could better reflect the realities of healthcare. That curiosity led me to pursue a PhD and career in education. From there, education became less of a career choice and more of a way to create meaningful change. If we want to change healthcare, we need to change how we learn and work together.
Describe your career so far.
Early in my career, I worked across pharmacy practice and academia in Australia and Malaysia – strengthening my foundations in patient care and teaching while broadening my perspective on education. I then moved into roles at Monash University, where I became involved in pharmacy education and global initiatives such as the MyDispense simulation. From there, I moved into the EdTech sector, where I worked closely with universities to design and deliver online health and social care programs. That experience deepened my focus on flexible and digital learning and improving access to education at scale.
Most recently, at the University of Melbourne, I designed and delivered curriculum and simulation-based learning that brought students from different disciplines together – including medicine, nursing, physiotherapy, speech pathology and dentistry – to learn about, from and with each other.
Healthcare is a team sport. That work reinforced how important it is to move beyond siloed thinking and better equip future healthcare professionals to collaborate effectively.
What does your new role at PSA entail?
I oversee a broad portfolio spanning training programs, credentialing, CPD, and emerging areas such as prescribing and expanded scope. The PSA plays an important role in shaping both practice and policy, and education sits right at the centre of that.
It also felt like the right time to bring together my experience across practice, academia and EdTech, and apply it in a way that more directly supports the workforce.
Tell us more about your work involving simulation and digital learning.
Simulation allows learners to practise in a safe and supportive environment. With MyDispense, I had the opportunity to help students build confidence before working with real patients by making mistakes and learning from them.
For me, the most interesting part is using simulation to reflect the complexity of practice; not just through technical and clinical skills, but the communication, teamwork and decision-making aspects required. Digital learning is also increasingly important. For busy healthcare professionals, learning needs to be flexible, accessible, engaging and relevant.
What are the challenges of introducing new technologies or teaching models?
New approaches are often met with hesitation. I’ve learnt that it’s important to focus less on the technology itself and more on the purpose behind it. Innovation shouldn’t be introduced for its own sake. It needs to solve a real problem or improve outcomes. When people see that value, they’re much more open to trying something new.
Any advice for ECPs who want to shape the next generation of pharmacists?
Start where you are and get involved in small ways; teaching, mentoring, or simply sharing your experiences can have a real impact. You don’t need to have everything figured out. Some of the most meaningful contributions come from people who are still learning themselves. And stay connected to why you do what you do. Education is ultimately about people, and the more you can bring that perspective to your work, the more impact you’ll have.
Day in the life of Vivienne Mak, Head of Education and Training, PSA, Melbourne, Victoria
| 7.30am | Brew and view Start the day with a strong latte; it’s non-negotiable. I’ll also usually have a quick look through my emails to get a sense of what’s coming up. |
| 8.00am | Team alignment Connect with the team and check in on key priorities across the portfolio, including learner progress, program delivery, CPD and workforce initiatives. A lot of the focus is on aligning moving parts and making sure everything is tracking as it should. |
| 12.00pm | Stakeholder engagement Meet with stakeholders – including health departments, partners or internal leaders – to discuss how our work supports current and evolving pharmacy roles. These conversations help to build a bridge between education and practice, ensuring what we’re doing is practical and required for pharmacists on the ground. |
| 2.00pm | Program blueprint Spend time with the team on program design and delivery. That might be refining a workshop, reviewing content or shaping digital learning. |
| 4.00pm | Shifting gears Pivot to more strategic work – including looking at new initiatives, thinking about what’s coming next, and how we continue to maintain and improve quality. This is usually where things start to connect across the bigger picture. |
| 6.00pm | Evening reset Wrap up and head home. Evenings are a chance to spend time with my husband, check in on my parents in Malaysia and decompress. We chat about the day and catch up on everything that’s been going on. |
| 8.00pm | Global growth Check emails or connect with collaborators in different time zones. I also use this time as a chance to step back and reflect on my work and where things are heading. |
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[post_content] => Tiernan McDonough MPS, PSA’s 2026 AMH Aged Care Pharmacist of the Year, is helping to develop onsite pharmacists from the ground up.
What has your career looked like so far?
I worked as a community pharmacist for many years in Brisbane, intermingled with casual CrossFit coaching, before transitioning into hospital pharmacy and undertaking medicines reviews for older adults.
After working part-time as a GP pharmacist, I moved to Adelaide to begin a PhD at the University of South Australia (UniSA). Now, most of my time is spent working on my PhD, part-time as an Aged Care On-site Pharmacist (ACOP), and casual academic work.
Why aged care?
The most rewarding roles I’ve had are my volunteer positions working with people living rough on the street or fleeing family violence. While aged care is very different, I get to work with vulnerable people who deserve respect, dignity and care. The longer I work in aged care and develop relationships with residents, staff and other engaged pharmacists, the more passionate I become.
What are the challenges and rewards of working in this setting?
There are persistent assumptions about what pharmacists do; we’re often seen only as gatekeepers or suppliers of medicines. Residential aged care facilities (RACFs) have functioned without an onsite pharmacist for such a long time, so it’s hard to change their mindset and say ‘I’m here to help, let me take on these jobs that fit my expertise so you can prioritise those that fit yours’.
Onsite pharmacists need to come in open-minded, flexible and proactive, and show the RACF how they can add value. But when you do, the rewards are immense. I’m constantly in awe of how skilled, kind and generous the staff are – nurses, carers, leisure staff, allied health, GPs, and many others. We can directly see the impact and value we bring, both to individuals and at a systemic level.
Tell us about the training program for onsite pharmacists you’re developing.
UniSA, in collaboration with the University of Western Australia, is developing a dedicated, flexible workplace-based training program for Aged Care On-site Pharmacists – aiming to enhance their practical skills and provide opportunities to learn from and with others. We know pharmacists can effectively review medicines and lead on deprescribing. In aged care settings, the training program should also help pharmacists function as communication conduits to improve collaboration and information sharing by implementing case conferences into services, facilitating communication between health professionals, and acting as ‘detectives’, digging into histories and health records to provide essential information for decision-making.
What are the next steps?
It’s officially crunch time for this project. We are finalising the co-design element and working to make it available to all pharmacists in aged care settings who want to access it. My ultimate hope is that the program will offer a widely available peer learning network where everyone can learn from each other, with a structured component for those motivated to pursue it. I have also developed The Aged Care Pharmacist Podcast to provide a platform for pharmacists to share insights and hear from experts in various fields of aged care.
How could the ACOP program improve?
By allowing pharmacists to grow into more senior roles. The current model provides a wonderful opportunity to improve quality use of medicines, but there are limits to where we can progress.
Once pharmacists gain experience, we should be afforded opportunities to progress into system-level governance roles across organisations, as well as provide support and mentorship to new pharmacists coming through.
[post_title] => Developing the Next Wave of Aged Care Pharmacists
[post_excerpt] => Tiernan McDonough MPS, PSA’s 2026 AMH Aged Care Pharmacist of the Year, is helping to develop onsite pharmacists from the ground up.
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[post_content] => With the expansion of pharmacy vaccination services across Australia, pharmacists are navigating an increasingly layered set of challenges.
Bill Wallace, PSA Pharmacist – Professional Support Adviser, outlines the most common vaccine-related questions that have come through this year.
1. Who can administer FluMist?
The introduction of intranasal influenza vaccine, FluMist, has prompted a wave of questions surrounding eligibility, prescribing and administration requirements.
Funding and eligibility differences between each state and territory are driving many of the inquiries.
‘We have had quite a few inquiries about whether [pharmacists] can administer FluMist to someone under 5 if they've got a prescription, which they can,’ said Mr Wallace.
State differences apply for initiation– Pharmacists in VIC, TAS, NT, and ACT are generally restricted to authorising and administering vaccines only to children aged 5 years and older. Whereas In NSW, WA, QLD, and SA, pharmacists can authorise and administer the influenza vaccine to children aged 2 and older.
Another recurring question is whether pharmacists who are not qualified immunisers can administer FluMist – given it’s administered nasally rather than via an intramuscular injection.
Mr Wallace noted that any vaccine administered by a pharmacist must be delivered by a qualified immuniser.
‘You need to be a qualified immuniser to meet the requirements for administering that particular medication. You'd be hard pressed to justify why you did it if something went wrong,’ said Mr Wallace.
The responsibility extends beyond simple administrative practices, and relates to professional accountability and emergency management responsibilities.
Mr Wallace noted that while serious reactions are rare, pharmacists still need to be prepared for any situation at hand.
‘If you weren't qualified and a claim was made, your insurer and The Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (Ahpra) would have many questions for you about your practice.’
2. Can pharmacists co-administer vaccines?
As Australia’s adult vaccination schedules get more complex, co-administration queries are becoming increasingly common.
‘Timing intervals and co-administration of vaccines is probably one of the more common clinical inquiries,’ Mr Wallace said.
Questions to the advice line often relate to whether vaccines can be given together, which vaccines require spacing, and whether they should be administered in one arm or both.
The National Centre for Immunisation Research and Surveillance guideline for vaccine co-administration and Australian Immunisation Handbook state that while most vaccines can generally be co-administered, separate injection sites should be used where possible, ensuring a distance of 2.5 cm between.
But Mr Wallace suggests pharmacists should also take additional care when reviewing Australian Immunisation Register (AIR) records and confirming patient histories to avoid inadvertent duplication
Particularly for older Australians, co-administration will be increasingly normalised for routine adult vaccinations (e.g. RSV, shingles, pneumoccocal, DTPa etc).
3. Can pharmacists vaccinate interstate?
Interstate practice continues to create a point of tension for pharmacist immunisers as requirements differ significantly between jurisdictions.
There are discrepancies between patient age eligibility, refresher requirements and additional accreditation, meaning pharmacists cannot automatically assume their qualifications transfer across all states and territories.
There are also differences between state and territory legislations which govern interstate pharmacists’ eligibility to administer vaccines, introducing barriers to interstate practice, according to the Immunisation Coalition.
‘Certain states, Tasmania, Victoria, and WA have slightly different training requirements … you need to ensure that you meet local state immunisation requirements prior to providing vaccinations,’ Mr Wallace said.
He stresses the importance of ‘checking what the differences are, and referring to resources like the local state pharmacist vaccination guidelines before administering vaccines’.
In some cases, pharmacists may need to complete an additional online module, although requirements vary. For example, the ACT has a Japanese encephalitis module that is required, and Victoria requires extra training to be able to provide certain travel vaccines.
Complicating matters further, immunisation requirements and eligibility for state and territory programs may change.
4. How do pharmacists maintain immunisation credentials?
Is it a matter of once a pharmacist immuniser, always a pharmacist immuniser?
Not quite.
According to Ahpra and state regulators, pharmacists must undertake annual immunisation-related CPD activities to maintain their currency.
‘Pharmacists must also maintain first aid every 3 years and CPR every 12 months,’ Mr Wallace said.
The PSA offers an online refresher training course which aligns with the current immunisation training. The training program consists of online modules to ensure a pharmacists’ accredited training remains up to date.
‘Some pharmacists did their vaccination courses a long time ago, with a much limited range of vaccines,’ he said.
‘There is also an Immunisation Practical Refresher Workshop that pharmacists can do if they've had a break in practice or want to refresh their technique.’
The online immunisation refresher course allows pharmacists to expand their training to cover all vaccines.
Looking for any answers to your queries? Hit up the Pharmacist Advice Line here.
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[post_content] => Once a disease of the past, diphtheria is rapidly re-emerging across Australia. Here’s what pharmacists need to know.
What is diphtheria?
A potentially deadly and highly contagious bacterial disease, diphtheria can infect the nose and throat, cause skin sores, and spread toxin through the body; in severe cases it can cause airway blockage, heart damage and nerve damage.
Respiratory diphtheria is the more deadly variant, and is typically spread through respiratory droplets, often when people cough and sneeze. Cutaneous diphtheria can spread through touching skin sores.
What are the symptoms?
Signs and symptoms of diphtheria include:
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[post_content] => AI is transforming pharmacy practice — but without the right safeguards, it can also put your registration at risk.
AI is no longer an emerging consideration for pharmacists – it’s already embedded in practice.
Using large language models (LLMs) such as ChatGPT to answer clinical questions and AI scribes like Heidi Health to capture consultation notes is becoming more commonplace. With agentic AI – systems that act autonomously on a patient’s behalf – now growing in popularity, the pace of AI adoption is only set to increase.
But these opportunities come with obligations – and without a distinct regulatory framework. Here, PSA Digital Health Lead and Victorian state manager Jarrod McMaugh MPS outlines the sixAI traps pharmacists need to avoid.
1. Entering identifiable patient information into AI platforms
One of the most significant risks pharmacists face when using AI is entering patients’ health information into AI platforms. Regardless of the purpose or the pharmacist’s intent, it may constitute a breach of Australian privacy law.
‘Let's say you were providing a Home Medicines Review (HMR) and you put the patient’s details into ChatGPT and asked, “What medicines is this person missing for their diagnosed conditions?” That would be a breach of privacy regulations,’ Mr McMaugh said.
‘Any information put into AI is stored. And therefore, where it is stored must adhere to the Australian privacy requirements.’
However, pharmacists who use LLMs to check for missed medicines or potential interactions can do so legitimately, provided no identifying information is included.
And while taking out a patient's name and address is a good first step, this may not adequately deidentify them.
‘You could prompt an LLM by saying, “I have a person who is taking medicines, x, y, z, and they have these diagnoses. Can you identify any missed medicines or any interactions?”’ Mr McMaugh said.
‘As long as there's no way to identify the individual, and it's just down to what is clinically appropriate, it's not a breach of any privacy matters.’
2. Assuming a business account equals compliance
You may think that moving from a free AI account to a paid business subscription resolves any compliance concerns.
But to be compliant, business or enterprise AI subscriptions must explicitly confirm that the platform meets Australian privacy regulations in the delivery of that service.
'You would need to be satisfied that the LLM, under contract, specifically states that it meets Australian privacy regulations,’ Mr McMaugh said.
‘It's similar to the agreement you have with your dispensing software [provider] or the clinical platform you use to record scope of practice work.’
3. Using AI scribes without proper consent
For pharmacists conducting clinical consultations, such as accredited and prescribing pharmacists, AI scribes can be incredibly useful for collecting and collating patient information.
But deploying them without meeting the required consent obligations creates significant professional risk.
‘You must get consent from the person whose session is being recorded by the AI tool,’ Mr McMaugh said. ‘And you must have the ability to turn it off if somebody says, “I want the service, but I don't want the AI tool recording our discussion”.’
For pharmacists uncertain about what adequate consent looks like in practice, he suggests the following approach: 'I'm going to use an AI scribe in this session. It will record our conversation and take notes on our behalf. It will create a copy that I'll keep on record, and you have the right to access that record any time you request it. Are you comfortable with me proceeding?’
Pharmacists should also ensure that the AI tool is not in an active learning phase, with systems that continue to learn from patient interactions requiring an additional layer of consent.
‘For the vast majority of pharmacists, that shouldn't be a scenario they find themselves in – unless they're involved in clinical research about an intervention or research about the AI tool,’ he said.
‘For the vast majority of pharmacists, that shouldn't be a scenario they find themselves in – unless they're involved in clinical research about an intervention or research about the AI tool,’ he said.
Pharmacists should confirm that AI dictation tools don't record voice snippets or retain details to improve the quality of their systems. Utilising AI models that are actively learning is generally not appropriate outside of a clinical trial with the accompanying level of consent seen in a trial setting.
Using an ‘active learning’ AI requires well documented consent for the person's health information to be used in this way, and is usually out of scope for most clinical settings.
4. Failing to check transcription accuracy
The second area of risk when using AI scribes is accuracy. While generally reliable, they can make mistakes; and the professional obligation to maintain accurate records rests with the pharmacist, not the AI tool.
To prevent errors, pharmacists should still take notes while the AI scribe is working in the background, particularly around critical details such as dosing.
'If you were in a position in the future where something has gone wrong and you're in front of AHPRA or another regulator, and they say, “Why are your notes incorrect?” just assuming that the digital scribe was doing its job is not sufficient for meeting your professional obligations,’ Mr McMaugh said.
AI and handwritten notes should also be reviewed at the end of each session, while details of the consultation are still fresh.
'If you use an AI scribe during an HMR interview and you don't review the transcript until a week later, how are you going to correct the information that it got wrong?’ Mr McMaugh said. ‘From a workflow perspective, and to adhere to professional obligations, you need to make sure it's accurate.’
5. Trusting AI output without checking the references
AI platforms can produce clinical responses that are well structured, but are actually incorrect. These AI ‘hallucinations’, where LLMs return fabricated or inconsistent information, are commonplace.
Another, more subtle risk is when LLMs draw on international sources rather than Australian-specific guidelines.
‘If you ask what the standard dose of a medication is, you might get a generally acceptable dose that's not applicable to specific Australian scenarios,’ Mr McMaugh said.
Antibiotic selection is a clear example, with resistance patterns varying between countries, meaning recommendations based on international data may be inappropriate or inadequate for an Australian patient.
'You should therefore always ask LLMs for references so you can confirm the information is correct,’ he added.
And don’t forget to check these references also, which aren’t immune to AI hallucinations.
6. Accepting an AI-generated booking as genuine patient consent
Agentic AI is a system designed to act autonomously on a person's behalf, booking appointments, managing schedules and completing transactions.
While these tools have the potential to streamline service appointments, such as vaccinations, pharmacists must be vigilant around digital bookings.
When an AI agent books a consultation on a patient's behalf, it’s not possible to confirm at the point of booking whether the patient themselves made an informed, active decision to attend.
‘If booked online, pharmacists should double-check that a person has provided consent to have a particular service when they come in,’ Mr McMaugh said. 'This is a good way to confirm that consent has been provided by the [person] receiving the service – not the AI that is booking on their behalf.’
To close any gaps in the consent chain, he suggests:
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[post_content] => What drew you to education?
As a pharmacist, I often saw that challenges in healthcare weren’t just about theoretical or clinical knowledge – but about communication, teamwork and systems. That made me curious about how we prepare people for practice. I became interested in how learning experiences could better reflect the realities of healthcare. That curiosity led me to pursue a PhD and career in education. From there, education became less of a career choice and more of a way to create meaningful change. If we want to change healthcare, we need to change how we learn and work together.
Describe your career so far.
Early in my career, I worked across pharmacy practice and academia in Australia and Malaysia – strengthening my foundations in patient care and teaching while broadening my perspective on education. I then moved into roles at Monash University, where I became involved in pharmacy education and global initiatives such as the MyDispense simulation. From there, I moved into the EdTech sector, where I worked closely with universities to design and deliver online health and social care programs. That experience deepened my focus on flexible and digital learning and improving access to education at scale.
Most recently, at the University of Melbourne, I designed and delivered curriculum and simulation-based learning that brought students from different disciplines together – including medicine, nursing, physiotherapy, speech pathology and dentistry – to learn about, from and with each other.
Healthcare is a team sport. That work reinforced how important it is to move beyond siloed thinking and better equip future healthcare professionals to collaborate effectively.
What does your new role at PSA entail?
I oversee a broad portfolio spanning training programs, credentialing, CPD, and emerging areas such as prescribing and expanded scope. The PSA plays an important role in shaping both practice and policy, and education sits right at the centre of that.
It also felt like the right time to bring together my experience across practice, academia and EdTech, and apply it in a way that more directly supports the workforce.
Tell us more about your work involving simulation and digital learning.
Simulation allows learners to practise in a safe and supportive environment. With MyDispense, I had the opportunity to help students build confidence before working with real patients by making mistakes and learning from them.
For me, the most interesting part is using simulation to reflect the complexity of practice; not just through technical and clinical skills, but the communication, teamwork and decision-making aspects required. Digital learning is also increasingly important. For busy healthcare professionals, learning needs to be flexible, accessible, engaging and relevant.
What are the challenges of introducing new technologies or teaching models?
New approaches are often met with hesitation. I’ve learnt that it’s important to focus less on the technology itself and more on the purpose behind it. Innovation shouldn’t be introduced for its own sake. It needs to solve a real problem or improve outcomes. When people see that value, they’re much more open to trying something new.
Any advice for ECPs who want to shape the next generation of pharmacists?
Start where you are and get involved in small ways; teaching, mentoring, or simply sharing your experiences can have a real impact. You don’t need to have everything figured out. Some of the most meaningful contributions come from people who are still learning themselves. And stay connected to why you do what you do. Education is ultimately about people, and the more you can bring that perspective to your work, the more impact you’ll have.
Day in the life of Vivienne Mak, Head of Education and Training, PSA, Melbourne, Victoria
| 7.30am | Brew and view Start the day with a strong latte; it’s non-negotiable. I’ll also usually have a quick look through my emails to get a sense of what’s coming up. |
| 8.00am | Team alignment Connect with the team and check in on key priorities across the portfolio, including learner progress, program delivery, CPD and workforce initiatives. A lot of the focus is on aligning moving parts and making sure everything is tracking as it should. |
| 12.00pm | Stakeholder engagement Meet with stakeholders – including health departments, partners or internal leaders – to discuss how our work supports current and evolving pharmacy roles. These conversations help to build a bridge between education and practice, ensuring what we’re doing is practical and required for pharmacists on the ground. |
| 2.00pm | Program blueprint Spend time with the team on program design and delivery. That might be refining a workshop, reviewing content or shaping digital learning. |
| 4.00pm | Shifting gears Pivot to more strategic work – including looking at new initiatives, thinking about what’s coming next, and how we continue to maintain and improve quality. This is usually where things start to connect across the bigger picture. |
| 6.00pm | Evening reset Wrap up and head home. Evenings are a chance to spend time with my husband, check in on my parents in Malaysia and decompress. We chat about the day and catch up on everything that’s been going on. |
| 8.00pm | Global growth Check emails or connect with collaborators in different time zones. I also use this time as a chance to step back and reflect on my work and where things are heading. |
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[post_content] => Tiernan McDonough MPS, PSA’s 2026 AMH Aged Care Pharmacist of the Year, is helping to develop onsite pharmacists from the ground up.
What has your career looked like so far?
I worked as a community pharmacist for many years in Brisbane, intermingled with casual CrossFit coaching, before transitioning into hospital pharmacy and undertaking medicines reviews for older adults.
After working part-time as a GP pharmacist, I moved to Adelaide to begin a PhD at the University of South Australia (UniSA). Now, most of my time is spent working on my PhD, part-time as an Aged Care On-site Pharmacist (ACOP), and casual academic work.
Why aged care?
The most rewarding roles I’ve had are my volunteer positions working with people living rough on the street or fleeing family violence. While aged care is very different, I get to work with vulnerable people who deserve respect, dignity and care. The longer I work in aged care and develop relationships with residents, staff and other engaged pharmacists, the more passionate I become.
What are the challenges and rewards of working in this setting?
There are persistent assumptions about what pharmacists do; we’re often seen only as gatekeepers or suppliers of medicines. Residential aged care facilities (RACFs) have functioned without an onsite pharmacist for such a long time, so it’s hard to change their mindset and say ‘I’m here to help, let me take on these jobs that fit my expertise so you can prioritise those that fit yours’.
Onsite pharmacists need to come in open-minded, flexible and proactive, and show the RACF how they can add value. But when you do, the rewards are immense. I’m constantly in awe of how skilled, kind and generous the staff are – nurses, carers, leisure staff, allied health, GPs, and many others. We can directly see the impact and value we bring, both to individuals and at a systemic level.
Tell us about the training program for onsite pharmacists you’re developing.
UniSA, in collaboration with the University of Western Australia, is developing a dedicated, flexible workplace-based training program for Aged Care On-site Pharmacists – aiming to enhance their practical skills and provide opportunities to learn from and with others. We know pharmacists can effectively review medicines and lead on deprescribing. In aged care settings, the training program should also help pharmacists function as communication conduits to improve collaboration and information sharing by implementing case conferences into services, facilitating communication between health professionals, and acting as ‘detectives’, digging into histories and health records to provide essential information for decision-making.
What are the next steps?
It’s officially crunch time for this project. We are finalising the co-design element and working to make it available to all pharmacists in aged care settings who want to access it. My ultimate hope is that the program will offer a widely available peer learning network where everyone can learn from each other, with a structured component for those motivated to pursue it. I have also developed The Aged Care Pharmacist Podcast to provide a platform for pharmacists to share insights and hear from experts in various fields of aged care.
How could the ACOP program improve?
By allowing pharmacists to grow into more senior roles. The current model provides a wonderful opportunity to improve quality use of medicines, but there are limits to where we can progress.
Once pharmacists gain experience, we should be afforded opportunities to progress into system-level governance roles across organisations, as well as provide support and mentorship to new pharmacists coming through.
[post_title] => Developing the Next Wave of Aged Care Pharmacists
[post_excerpt] => Tiernan McDonough MPS, PSA’s 2026 AMH Aged Care Pharmacist of the Year, is helping to develop onsite pharmacists from the ground up.
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[post_content] => With the expansion of pharmacy vaccination services across Australia, pharmacists are navigating an increasingly layered set of challenges.
Bill Wallace, PSA Pharmacist – Professional Support Adviser, outlines the most common vaccine-related questions that have come through this year.
1. Who can administer FluMist?
The introduction of intranasal influenza vaccine, FluMist, has prompted a wave of questions surrounding eligibility, prescribing and administration requirements.
Funding and eligibility differences between each state and territory are driving many of the inquiries.
‘We have had quite a few inquiries about whether [pharmacists] can administer FluMist to someone under 5 if they've got a prescription, which they can,’ said Mr Wallace.
State differences apply for initiation– Pharmacists in VIC, TAS, NT, and ACT are generally restricted to authorising and administering vaccines only to children aged 5 years and older. Whereas In NSW, WA, QLD, and SA, pharmacists can authorise and administer the influenza vaccine to children aged 2 and older.
Another recurring question is whether pharmacists who are not qualified immunisers can administer FluMist – given it’s administered nasally rather than via an intramuscular injection.
Mr Wallace noted that any vaccine administered by a pharmacist must be delivered by a qualified immuniser.
‘You need to be a qualified immuniser to meet the requirements for administering that particular medication. You'd be hard pressed to justify why you did it if something went wrong,’ said Mr Wallace.
The responsibility extends beyond simple administrative practices, and relates to professional accountability and emergency management responsibilities.
Mr Wallace noted that while serious reactions are rare, pharmacists still need to be prepared for any situation at hand.
‘If you weren't qualified and a claim was made, your insurer and The Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (Ahpra) would have many questions for you about your practice.’
2. Can pharmacists co-administer vaccines?
As Australia’s adult vaccination schedules get more complex, co-administration queries are becoming increasingly common.
‘Timing intervals and co-administration of vaccines is probably one of the more common clinical inquiries,’ Mr Wallace said.
Questions to the advice line often relate to whether vaccines can be given together, which vaccines require spacing, and whether they should be administered in one arm or both.
The National Centre for Immunisation Research and Surveillance guideline for vaccine co-administration and Australian Immunisation Handbook state that while most vaccines can generally be co-administered, separate injection sites should be used where possible, ensuring a distance of 2.5 cm between.
But Mr Wallace suggests pharmacists should also take additional care when reviewing Australian Immunisation Register (AIR) records and confirming patient histories to avoid inadvertent duplication
Particularly for older Australians, co-administration will be increasingly normalised for routine adult vaccinations (e.g. RSV, shingles, pneumoccocal, DTPa etc).
3. Can pharmacists vaccinate interstate?
Interstate practice continues to create a point of tension for pharmacist immunisers as requirements differ significantly between jurisdictions.
There are discrepancies between patient age eligibility, refresher requirements and additional accreditation, meaning pharmacists cannot automatically assume their qualifications transfer across all states and territories.
There are also differences between state and territory legislations which govern interstate pharmacists’ eligibility to administer vaccines, introducing barriers to interstate practice, according to the Immunisation Coalition.
‘Certain states, Tasmania, Victoria, and WA have slightly different training requirements … you need to ensure that you meet local state immunisation requirements prior to providing vaccinations,’ Mr Wallace said.
He stresses the importance of ‘checking what the differences are, and referring to resources like the local state pharmacist vaccination guidelines before administering vaccines’.
In some cases, pharmacists may need to complete an additional online module, although requirements vary. For example, the ACT has a Japanese encephalitis module that is required, and Victoria requires extra training to be able to provide certain travel vaccines.
Complicating matters further, immunisation requirements and eligibility for state and territory programs may change.
4. How do pharmacists maintain immunisation credentials?
Is it a matter of once a pharmacist immuniser, always a pharmacist immuniser?
Not quite.
According to Ahpra and state regulators, pharmacists must undertake annual immunisation-related CPD activities to maintain their currency.
‘Pharmacists must also maintain first aid every 3 years and CPR every 12 months,’ Mr Wallace said.
The PSA offers an online refresher training course which aligns with the current immunisation training. The training program consists of online modules to ensure a pharmacists’ accredited training remains up to date.
‘Some pharmacists did their vaccination courses a long time ago, with a much limited range of vaccines,’ he said.
‘There is also an Immunisation Practical Refresher Workshop that pharmacists can do if they've had a break in practice or want to refresh their technique.’
The online immunisation refresher course allows pharmacists to expand their training to cover all vaccines.
Looking for any answers to your queries? Hit up the Pharmacist Advice Line here.
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[post_content] => Once a disease of the past, diphtheria is rapidly re-emerging across Australia. Here’s what pharmacists need to know.
What is diphtheria?
A potentially deadly and highly contagious bacterial disease, diphtheria can infect the nose and throat, cause skin sores, and spread toxin through the body; in severe cases it can cause airway blockage, heart damage and nerve damage.
Respiratory diphtheria is the more deadly variant, and is typically spread through respiratory droplets, often when people cough and sneeze. Cutaneous diphtheria can spread through touching skin sores.
What are the symptoms?
Signs and symptoms of diphtheria include:
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[post_content] => AI is transforming pharmacy practice — but without the right safeguards, it can also put your registration at risk.
AI is no longer an emerging consideration for pharmacists – it’s already embedded in practice.
Using large language models (LLMs) such as ChatGPT to answer clinical questions and AI scribes like Heidi Health to capture consultation notes is becoming more commonplace. With agentic AI – systems that act autonomously on a patient’s behalf – now growing in popularity, the pace of AI adoption is only set to increase.
But these opportunities come with obligations – and without a distinct regulatory framework. Here, PSA Digital Health Lead and Victorian state manager Jarrod McMaugh MPS outlines the sixAI traps pharmacists need to avoid.
1. Entering identifiable patient information into AI platforms
One of the most significant risks pharmacists face when using AI is entering patients’ health information into AI platforms. Regardless of the purpose or the pharmacist’s intent, it may constitute a breach of Australian privacy law.
‘Let's say you were providing a Home Medicines Review (HMR) and you put the patient’s details into ChatGPT and asked, “What medicines is this person missing for their diagnosed conditions?” That would be a breach of privacy regulations,’ Mr McMaugh said.
‘Any information put into AI is stored. And therefore, where it is stored must adhere to the Australian privacy requirements.’
However, pharmacists who use LLMs to check for missed medicines or potential interactions can do so legitimately, provided no identifying information is included.
And while taking out a patient's name and address is a good first step, this may not adequately deidentify them.
‘You could prompt an LLM by saying, “I have a person who is taking medicines, x, y, z, and they have these diagnoses. Can you identify any missed medicines or any interactions?”’ Mr McMaugh said.
‘As long as there's no way to identify the individual, and it's just down to what is clinically appropriate, it's not a breach of any privacy matters.’
2. Assuming a business account equals compliance
You may think that moving from a free AI account to a paid business subscription resolves any compliance concerns.
But to be compliant, business or enterprise AI subscriptions must explicitly confirm that the platform meets Australian privacy regulations in the delivery of that service.
'You would need to be satisfied that the LLM, under contract, specifically states that it meets Australian privacy regulations,’ Mr McMaugh said.
‘It's similar to the agreement you have with your dispensing software [provider] or the clinical platform you use to record scope of practice work.’
3. Using AI scribes without proper consent
For pharmacists conducting clinical consultations, such as accredited and prescribing pharmacists, AI scribes can be incredibly useful for collecting and collating patient information.
But deploying them without meeting the required consent obligations creates significant professional risk.
‘You must get consent from the person whose session is being recorded by the AI tool,’ Mr McMaugh said. ‘And you must have the ability to turn it off if somebody says, “I want the service, but I don't want the AI tool recording our discussion”.’
For pharmacists uncertain about what adequate consent looks like in practice, he suggests the following approach: 'I'm going to use an AI scribe in this session. It will record our conversation and take notes on our behalf. It will create a copy that I'll keep on record, and you have the right to access that record any time you request it. Are you comfortable with me proceeding?’
Pharmacists should also ensure that the AI tool is not in an active learning phase, with systems that continue to learn from patient interactions requiring an additional layer of consent.
‘For the vast majority of pharmacists, that shouldn't be a scenario they find themselves in – unless they're involved in clinical research about an intervention or research about the AI tool,’ he said.
‘For the vast majority of pharmacists, that shouldn't be a scenario they find themselves in – unless they're involved in clinical research about an intervention or research about the AI tool,’ he said.
Pharmacists should confirm that AI dictation tools don't record voice snippets or retain details to improve the quality of their systems. Utilising AI models that are actively learning is generally not appropriate outside of a clinical trial with the accompanying level of consent seen in a trial setting.
Using an ‘active learning’ AI requires well documented consent for the person's health information to be used in this way, and is usually out of scope for most clinical settings.
4. Failing to check transcription accuracy
The second area of risk when using AI scribes is accuracy. While generally reliable, they can make mistakes; and the professional obligation to maintain accurate records rests with the pharmacist, not the AI tool.
To prevent errors, pharmacists should still take notes while the AI scribe is working in the background, particularly around critical details such as dosing.
'If you were in a position in the future where something has gone wrong and you're in front of AHPRA or another regulator, and they say, “Why are your notes incorrect?” just assuming that the digital scribe was doing its job is not sufficient for meeting your professional obligations,’ Mr McMaugh said.
AI and handwritten notes should also be reviewed at the end of each session, while details of the consultation are still fresh.
'If you use an AI scribe during an HMR interview and you don't review the transcript until a week later, how are you going to correct the information that it got wrong?’ Mr McMaugh said. ‘From a workflow perspective, and to adhere to professional obligations, you need to make sure it's accurate.’
5. Trusting AI output without checking the references
AI platforms can produce clinical responses that are well structured, but are actually incorrect. These AI ‘hallucinations’, where LLMs return fabricated or inconsistent information, are commonplace.
Another, more subtle risk is when LLMs draw on international sources rather than Australian-specific guidelines.
‘If you ask what the standard dose of a medication is, you might get a generally acceptable dose that's not applicable to specific Australian scenarios,’ Mr McMaugh said.
Antibiotic selection is a clear example, with resistance patterns varying between countries, meaning recommendations based on international data may be inappropriate or inadequate for an Australian patient.
'You should therefore always ask LLMs for references so you can confirm the information is correct,’ he added.
And don’t forget to check these references also, which aren’t immune to AI hallucinations.
6. Accepting an AI-generated booking as genuine patient consent
Agentic AI is a system designed to act autonomously on a person's behalf, booking appointments, managing schedules and completing transactions.
While these tools have the potential to streamline service appointments, such as vaccinations, pharmacists must be vigilant around digital bookings.
When an AI agent books a consultation on a patient's behalf, it’s not possible to confirm at the point of booking whether the patient themselves made an informed, active decision to attend.
‘If booked online, pharmacists should double-check that a person has provided consent to have a particular service when they come in,’ Mr McMaugh said. 'This is a good way to confirm that consent has been provided by the [person] receiving the service – not the AI that is booking on their behalf.’
To close any gaps in the consent chain, he suggests:
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[post_content] => What drew you to education?
As a pharmacist, I often saw that challenges in healthcare weren’t just about theoretical or clinical knowledge – but about communication, teamwork and systems. That made me curious about how we prepare people for practice. I became interested in how learning experiences could better reflect the realities of healthcare. That curiosity led me to pursue a PhD and career in education. From there, education became less of a career choice and more of a way to create meaningful change. If we want to change healthcare, we need to change how we learn and work together.
Describe your career so far.
Early in my career, I worked across pharmacy practice and academia in Australia and Malaysia – strengthening my foundations in patient care and teaching while broadening my perspective on education. I then moved into roles at Monash University, where I became involved in pharmacy education and global initiatives such as the MyDispense simulation. From there, I moved into the EdTech sector, where I worked closely with universities to design and deliver online health and social care programs. That experience deepened my focus on flexible and digital learning and improving access to education at scale.
Most recently, at the University of Melbourne, I designed and delivered curriculum and simulation-based learning that brought students from different disciplines together – including medicine, nursing, physiotherapy, speech pathology and dentistry – to learn about, from and with each other.
Healthcare is a team sport. That work reinforced how important it is to move beyond siloed thinking and better equip future healthcare professionals to collaborate effectively.
What does your new role at PSA entail?
I oversee a broad portfolio spanning training programs, credentialing, CPD, and emerging areas such as prescribing and expanded scope. The PSA plays an important role in shaping both practice and policy, and education sits right at the centre of that.
It also felt like the right time to bring together my experience across practice, academia and EdTech, and apply it in a way that more directly supports the workforce.
Tell us more about your work involving simulation and digital learning.
Simulation allows learners to practise in a safe and supportive environment. With MyDispense, I had the opportunity to help students build confidence before working with real patients by making mistakes and learning from them.
For me, the most interesting part is using simulation to reflect the complexity of practice; not just through technical and clinical skills, but the communication, teamwork and decision-making aspects required. Digital learning is also increasingly important. For busy healthcare professionals, learning needs to be flexible, accessible, engaging and relevant.
What are the challenges of introducing new technologies or teaching models?
New approaches are often met with hesitation. I’ve learnt that it’s important to focus less on the technology itself and more on the purpose behind it. Innovation shouldn’t be introduced for its own sake. It needs to solve a real problem or improve outcomes. When people see that value, they’re much more open to trying something new.
Any advice for ECPs who want to shape the next generation of pharmacists?
Start where you are and get involved in small ways; teaching, mentoring, or simply sharing your experiences can have a real impact. You don’t need to have everything figured out. Some of the most meaningful contributions come from people who are still learning themselves. And stay connected to why you do what you do. Education is ultimately about people, and the more you can bring that perspective to your work, the more impact you’ll have.
Day in the life of Vivienne Mak, Head of Education and Training, PSA, Melbourne, Victoria
| 7.30am | Brew and view Start the day with a strong latte; it’s non-negotiable. I’ll also usually have a quick look through my emails to get a sense of what’s coming up. |
| 8.00am | Team alignment Connect with the team and check in on key priorities across the portfolio, including learner progress, program delivery, CPD and workforce initiatives. A lot of the focus is on aligning moving parts and making sure everything is tracking as it should. |
| 12.00pm | Stakeholder engagement Meet with stakeholders – including health departments, partners or internal leaders – to discuss how our work supports current and evolving pharmacy roles. These conversations help to build a bridge between education and practice, ensuring what we’re doing is practical and required for pharmacists on the ground. |
| 2.00pm | Program blueprint Spend time with the team on program design and delivery. That might be refining a workshop, reviewing content or shaping digital learning. |
| 4.00pm | Shifting gears Pivot to more strategic work – including looking at new initiatives, thinking about what’s coming next, and how we continue to maintain and improve quality. This is usually where things start to connect across the bigger picture. |
| 6.00pm | Evening reset Wrap up and head home. Evenings are a chance to spend time with my husband, check in on my parents in Malaysia and decompress. We chat about the day and catch up on everything that’s been going on. |
| 8.00pm | Global growth Check emails or connect with collaborators in different time zones. I also use this time as a chance to step back and reflect on my work and where things are heading. |
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[post_content] => Tiernan McDonough MPS, PSA’s 2026 AMH Aged Care Pharmacist of the Year, is helping to develop onsite pharmacists from the ground up.
What has your career looked like so far?
I worked as a community pharmacist for many years in Brisbane, intermingled with casual CrossFit coaching, before transitioning into hospital pharmacy and undertaking medicines reviews for older adults.
After working part-time as a GP pharmacist, I moved to Adelaide to begin a PhD at the University of South Australia (UniSA). Now, most of my time is spent working on my PhD, part-time as an Aged Care On-site Pharmacist (ACOP), and casual academic work.
Why aged care?
The most rewarding roles I’ve had are my volunteer positions working with people living rough on the street or fleeing family violence. While aged care is very different, I get to work with vulnerable people who deserve respect, dignity and care. The longer I work in aged care and develop relationships with residents, staff and other engaged pharmacists, the more passionate I become.
What are the challenges and rewards of working in this setting?
There are persistent assumptions about what pharmacists do; we’re often seen only as gatekeepers or suppliers of medicines. Residential aged care facilities (RACFs) have functioned without an onsite pharmacist for such a long time, so it’s hard to change their mindset and say ‘I’m here to help, let me take on these jobs that fit my expertise so you can prioritise those that fit yours’.
Onsite pharmacists need to come in open-minded, flexible and proactive, and show the RACF how they can add value. But when you do, the rewards are immense. I’m constantly in awe of how skilled, kind and generous the staff are – nurses, carers, leisure staff, allied health, GPs, and many others. We can directly see the impact and value we bring, both to individuals and at a systemic level.
Tell us about the training program for onsite pharmacists you’re developing.
UniSA, in collaboration with the University of Western Australia, is developing a dedicated, flexible workplace-based training program for Aged Care On-site Pharmacists – aiming to enhance their practical skills and provide opportunities to learn from and with others. We know pharmacists can effectively review medicines and lead on deprescribing. In aged care settings, the training program should also help pharmacists function as communication conduits to improve collaboration and information sharing by implementing case conferences into services, facilitating communication between health professionals, and acting as ‘detectives’, digging into histories and health records to provide essential information for decision-making.
What are the next steps?
It’s officially crunch time for this project. We are finalising the co-design element and working to make it available to all pharmacists in aged care settings who want to access it. My ultimate hope is that the program will offer a widely available peer learning network where everyone can learn from each other, with a structured component for those motivated to pursue it. I have also developed The Aged Care Pharmacist Podcast to provide a platform for pharmacists to share insights and hear from experts in various fields of aged care.
How could the ACOP program improve?
By allowing pharmacists to grow into more senior roles. The current model provides a wonderful opportunity to improve quality use of medicines, but there are limits to where we can progress.
Once pharmacists gain experience, we should be afforded opportunities to progress into system-level governance roles across organisations, as well as provide support and mentorship to new pharmacists coming through.
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[post_content] => With the expansion of pharmacy vaccination services across Australia, pharmacists are navigating an increasingly layered set of challenges.
Bill Wallace, PSA Pharmacist – Professional Support Adviser, outlines the most common vaccine-related questions that have come through this year.
1. Who can administer FluMist?
The introduction of intranasal influenza vaccine, FluMist, has prompted a wave of questions surrounding eligibility, prescribing and administration requirements.
Funding and eligibility differences between each state and territory are driving many of the inquiries.
‘We have had quite a few inquiries about whether [pharmacists] can administer FluMist to someone under 5 if they've got a prescription, which they can,’ said Mr Wallace.
State differences apply for initiation– Pharmacists in VIC, TAS, NT, and ACT are generally restricted to authorising and administering vaccines only to children aged 5 years and older. Whereas In NSW, WA, QLD, and SA, pharmacists can authorise and administer the influenza vaccine to children aged 2 and older.
Another recurring question is whether pharmacists who are not qualified immunisers can administer FluMist – given it’s administered nasally rather than via an intramuscular injection.
Mr Wallace noted that any vaccine administered by a pharmacist must be delivered by a qualified immuniser.
‘You need to be a qualified immuniser to meet the requirements for administering that particular medication. You'd be hard pressed to justify why you did it if something went wrong,’ said Mr Wallace.
The responsibility extends beyond simple administrative practices, and relates to professional accountability and emergency management responsibilities.
Mr Wallace noted that while serious reactions are rare, pharmacists still need to be prepared for any situation at hand.
‘If you weren't qualified and a claim was made, your insurer and The Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (Ahpra) would have many questions for you about your practice.’
2. Can pharmacists co-administer vaccines?
As Australia’s adult vaccination schedules get more complex, co-administration queries are becoming increasingly common.
‘Timing intervals and co-administration of vaccines is probably one of the more common clinical inquiries,’ Mr Wallace said.
Questions to the advice line often relate to whether vaccines can be given together, which vaccines require spacing, and whether they should be administered in one arm or both.
The National Centre for Immunisation Research and Surveillance guideline for vaccine co-administration and Australian Immunisation Handbook state that while most vaccines can generally be co-administered, separate injection sites should be used where possible, ensuring a distance of 2.5 cm between.
But Mr Wallace suggests pharmacists should also take additional care when reviewing Australian Immunisation Register (AIR) records and confirming patient histories to avoid inadvertent duplication
Particularly for older Australians, co-administration will be increasingly normalised for routine adult vaccinations (e.g. RSV, shingles, pneumoccocal, DTPa etc).
3. Can pharmacists vaccinate interstate?
Interstate practice continues to create a point of tension for pharmacist immunisers as requirements differ significantly between jurisdictions.
There are discrepancies between patient age eligibility, refresher requirements and additional accreditation, meaning pharmacists cannot automatically assume their qualifications transfer across all states and territories.
There are also differences between state and territory legislations which govern interstate pharmacists’ eligibility to administer vaccines, introducing barriers to interstate practice, according to the Immunisation Coalition.
‘Certain states, Tasmania, Victoria, and WA have slightly different training requirements … you need to ensure that you meet local state immunisation requirements prior to providing vaccinations,’ Mr Wallace said.
He stresses the importance of ‘checking what the differences are, and referring to resources like the local state pharmacist vaccination guidelines before administering vaccines’.
In some cases, pharmacists may need to complete an additional online module, although requirements vary. For example, the ACT has a Japanese encephalitis module that is required, and Victoria requires extra training to be able to provide certain travel vaccines.
Complicating matters further, immunisation requirements and eligibility for state and territory programs may change.
4. How do pharmacists maintain immunisation credentials?
Is it a matter of once a pharmacist immuniser, always a pharmacist immuniser?
Not quite.
According to Ahpra and state regulators, pharmacists must undertake annual immunisation-related CPD activities to maintain their currency.
‘Pharmacists must also maintain first aid every 3 years and CPR every 12 months,’ Mr Wallace said.
The PSA offers an online refresher training course which aligns with the current immunisation training. The training program consists of online modules to ensure a pharmacists’ accredited training remains up to date.
‘Some pharmacists did their vaccination courses a long time ago, with a much limited range of vaccines,’ he said.
‘There is also an Immunisation Practical Refresher Workshop that pharmacists can do if they've had a break in practice or want to refresh their technique.’
The online immunisation refresher course allows pharmacists to expand their training to cover all vaccines.
Looking for any answers to your queries? Hit up the Pharmacist Advice Line here.
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[post_content] => Once a disease of the past, diphtheria is rapidly re-emerging across Australia. Here’s what pharmacists need to know.
What is diphtheria?
A potentially deadly and highly contagious bacterial disease, diphtheria can infect the nose and throat, cause skin sores, and spread toxin through the body; in severe cases it can cause airway blockage, heart damage and nerve damage.
Respiratory diphtheria is the more deadly variant, and is typically spread through respiratory droplets, often when people cough and sneeze. Cutaneous diphtheria can spread through touching skin sores.
What are the symptoms?
Signs and symptoms of diphtheria include:
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[post_content] => AI is transforming pharmacy practice — but without the right safeguards, it can also put your registration at risk.
AI is no longer an emerging consideration for pharmacists – it’s already embedded in practice.
Using large language models (LLMs) such as ChatGPT to answer clinical questions and AI scribes like Heidi Health to capture consultation notes is becoming more commonplace. With agentic AI – systems that act autonomously on a patient’s behalf – now growing in popularity, the pace of AI adoption is only set to increase.
But these opportunities come with obligations – and without a distinct regulatory framework. Here, PSA Digital Health Lead and Victorian state manager Jarrod McMaugh MPS outlines the sixAI traps pharmacists need to avoid.
1. Entering identifiable patient information into AI platforms
One of the most significant risks pharmacists face when using AI is entering patients’ health information into AI platforms. Regardless of the purpose or the pharmacist’s intent, it may constitute a breach of Australian privacy law.
‘Let's say you were providing a Home Medicines Review (HMR) and you put the patient’s details into ChatGPT and asked, “What medicines is this person missing for their diagnosed conditions?” That would be a breach of privacy regulations,’ Mr McMaugh said.
‘Any information put into AI is stored. And therefore, where it is stored must adhere to the Australian privacy requirements.’
However, pharmacists who use LLMs to check for missed medicines or potential interactions can do so legitimately, provided no identifying information is included.
And while taking out a patient's name and address is a good first step, this may not adequately deidentify them.
‘You could prompt an LLM by saying, “I have a person who is taking medicines, x, y, z, and they have these diagnoses. Can you identify any missed medicines or any interactions?”’ Mr McMaugh said.
‘As long as there's no way to identify the individual, and it's just down to what is clinically appropriate, it's not a breach of any privacy matters.’
2. Assuming a business account equals compliance
You may think that moving from a free AI account to a paid business subscription resolves any compliance concerns.
But to be compliant, business or enterprise AI subscriptions must explicitly confirm that the platform meets Australian privacy regulations in the delivery of that service.
'You would need to be satisfied that the LLM, under contract, specifically states that it meets Australian privacy regulations,’ Mr McMaugh said.
‘It's similar to the agreement you have with your dispensing software [provider] or the clinical platform you use to record scope of practice work.’
3. Using AI scribes without proper consent
For pharmacists conducting clinical consultations, such as accredited and prescribing pharmacists, AI scribes can be incredibly useful for collecting and collating patient information.
But deploying them without meeting the required consent obligations creates significant professional risk.
‘You must get consent from the person whose session is being recorded by the AI tool,’ Mr McMaugh said. ‘And you must have the ability to turn it off if somebody says, “I want the service, but I don't want the AI tool recording our discussion”.’
For pharmacists uncertain about what adequate consent looks like in practice, he suggests the following approach: 'I'm going to use an AI scribe in this session. It will record our conversation and take notes on our behalf. It will create a copy that I'll keep on record, and you have the right to access that record any time you request it. Are you comfortable with me proceeding?’
Pharmacists should also ensure that the AI tool is not in an active learning phase, with systems that continue to learn from patient interactions requiring an additional layer of consent.
‘For the vast majority of pharmacists, that shouldn't be a scenario they find themselves in – unless they're involved in clinical research about an intervention or research about the AI tool,’ he said.
‘For the vast majority of pharmacists, that shouldn't be a scenario they find themselves in – unless they're involved in clinical research about an intervention or research about the AI tool,’ he said.
Pharmacists should confirm that AI dictation tools don't record voice snippets or retain details to improve the quality of their systems. Utilising AI models that are actively learning is generally not appropriate outside of a clinical trial with the accompanying level of consent seen in a trial setting.
Using an ‘active learning’ AI requires well documented consent for the person's health information to be used in this way, and is usually out of scope for most clinical settings.
4. Failing to check transcription accuracy
The second area of risk when using AI scribes is accuracy. While generally reliable, they can make mistakes; and the professional obligation to maintain accurate records rests with the pharmacist, not the AI tool.
To prevent errors, pharmacists should still take notes while the AI scribe is working in the background, particularly around critical details such as dosing.
'If you were in a position in the future where something has gone wrong and you're in front of AHPRA or another regulator, and they say, “Why are your notes incorrect?” just assuming that the digital scribe was doing its job is not sufficient for meeting your professional obligations,’ Mr McMaugh said.
AI and handwritten notes should also be reviewed at the end of each session, while details of the consultation are still fresh.
'If you use an AI scribe during an HMR interview and you don't review the transcript until a week later, how are you going to correct the information that it got wrong?’ Mr McMaugh said. ‘From a workflow perspective, and to adhere to professional obligations, you need to make sure it's accurate.’
5. Trusting AI output without checking the references
AI platforms can produce clinical responses that are well structured, but are actually incorrect. These AI ‘hallucinations’, where LLMs return fabricated or inconsistent information, are commonplace.
Another, more subtle risk is when LLMs draw on international sources rather than Australian-specific guidelines.
‘If you ask what the standard dose of a medication is, you might get a generally acceptable dose that's not applicable to specific Australian scenarios,’ Mr McMaugh said.
Antibiotic selection is a clear example, with resistance patterns varying between countries, meaning recommendations based on international data may be inappropriate or inadequate for an Australian patient.
'You should therefore always ask LLMs for references so you can confirm the information is correct,’ he added.
And don’t forget to check these references also, which aren’t immune to AI hallucinations.
6. Accepting an AI-generated booking as genuine patient consent
Agentic AI is a system designed to act autonomously on a person's behalf, booking appointments, managing schedules and completing transactions.
While these tools have the potential to streamline service appointments, such as vaccinations, pharmacists must be vigilant around digital bookings.
When an AI agent books a consultation on a patient's behalf, it’s not possible to confirm at the point of booking whether the patient themselves made an informed, active decision to attend.
‘If booked online, pharmacists should double-check that a person has provided consent to have a particular service when they come in,’ Mr McMaugh said. 'This is a good way to confirm that consent has been provided by the [person] receiving the service – not the AI that is booking on their behalf.’
To close any gaps in the consent chain, he suggests:
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[post_content] => What drew you to education?
As a pharmacist, I often saw that challenges in healthcare weren’t just about theoretical or clinical knowledge – but about communication, teamwork and systems. That made me curious about how we prepare people for practice. I became interested in how learning experiences could better reflect the realities of healthcare. That curiosity led me to pursue a PhD and career in education. From there, education became less of a career choice and more of a way to create meaningful change. If we want to change healthcare, we need to change how we learn and work together.
Describe your career so far.
Early in my career, I worked across pharmacy practice and academia in Australia and Malaysia – strengthening my foundations in patient care and teaching while broadening my perspective on education. I then moved into roles at Monash University, where I became involved in pharmacy education and global initiatives such as the MyDispense simulation. From there, I moved into the EdTech sector, where I worked closely with universities to design and deliver online health and social care programs. That experience deepened my focus on flexible and digital learning and improving access to education at scale.
Most recently, at the University of Melbourne, I designed and delivered curriculum and simulation-based learning that brought students from different disciplines together – including medicine, nursing, physiotherapy, speech pathology and dentistry – to learn about, from and with each other.
Healthcare is a team sport. That work reinforced how important it is to move beyond siloed thinking and better equip future healthcare professionals to collaborate effectively.
What does your new role at PSA entail?
I oversee a broad portfolio spanning training programs, credentialing, CPD, and emerging areas such as prescribing and expanded scope. The PSA plays an important role in shaping both practice and policy, and education sits right at the centre of that.
It also felt like the right time to bring together my experience across practice, academia and EdTech, and apply it in a way that more directly supports the workforce.
Tell us more about your work involving simulation and digital learning.
Simulation allows learners to practise in a safe and supportive environment. With MyDispense, I had the opportunity to help students build confidence before working with real patients by making mistakes and learning from them.
For me, the most interesting part is using simulation to reflect the complexity of practice; not just through technical and clinical skills, but the communication, teamwork and decision-making aspects required. Digital learning is also increasingly important. For busy healthcare professionals, learning needs to be flexible, accessible, engaging and relevant.
What are the challenges of introducing new technologies or teaching models?
New approaches are often met with hesitation. I’ve learnt that it’s important to focus less on the technology itself and more on the purpose behind it. Innovation shouldn’t be introduced for its own sake. It needs to solve a real problem or improve outcomes. When people see that value, they’re much more open to trying something new.
Any advice for ECPs who want to shape the next generation of pharmacists?
Start where you are and get involved in small ways; teaching, mentoring, or simply sharing your experiences can have a real impact. You don’t need to have everything figured out. Some of the most meaningful contributions come from people who are still learning themselves. And stay connected to why you do what you do. Education is ultimately about people, and the more you can bring that perspective to your work, the more impact you’ll have.
Day in the life of Vivienne Mak, Head of Education and Training, PSA, Melbourne, Victoria
| 7.30am | Brew and view Start the day with a strong latte; it’s non-negotiable. I’ll also usually have a quick look through my emails to get a sense of what’s coming up. |
| 8.00am | Team alignment Connect with the team and check in on key priorities across the portfolio, including learner progress, program delivery, CPD and workforce initiatives. A lot of the focus is on aligning moving parts and making sure everything is tracking as it should. |
| 12.00pm | Stakeholder engagement Meet with stakeholders – including health departments, partners or internal leaders – to discuss how our work supports current and evolving pharmacy roles. These conversations help to build a bridge between education and practice, ensuring what we’re doing is practical and required for pharmacists on the ground. |
| 2.00pm | Program blueprint Spend time with the team on program design and delivery. That might be refining a workshop, reviewing content or shaping digital learning. |
| 4.00pm | Shifting gears Pivot to more strategic work – including looking at new initiatives, thinking about what’s coming next, and how we continue to maintain and improve quality. This is usually where things start to connect across the bigger picture. |
| 6.00pm | Evening reset Wrap up and head home. Evenings are a chance to spend time with my husband, check in on my parents in Malaysia and decompress. We chat about the day and catch up on everything that’s been going on. |
| 8.00pm | Global growth Check emails or connect with collaborators in different time zones. I also use this time as a chance to step back and reflect on my work and where things are heading. |
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[post_content] => Tiernan McDonough MPS, PSA’s 2026 AMH Aged Care Pharmacist of the Year, is helping to develop onsite pharmacists from the ground up.
What has your career looked like so far?
I worked as a community pharmacist for many years in Brisbane, intermingled with casual CrossFit coaching, before transitioning into hospital pharmacy and undertaking medicines reviews for older adults.
After working part-time as a GP pharmacist, I moved to Adelaide to begin a PhD at the University of South Australia (UniSA). Now, most of my time is spent working on my PhD, part-time as an Aged Care On-site Pharmacist (ACOP), and casual academic work.
Why aged care?
The most rewarding roles I’ve had are my volunteer positions working with people living rough on the street or fleeing family violence. While aged care is very different, I get to work with vulnerable people who deserve respect, dignity and care. The longer I work in aged care and develop relationships with residents, staff and other engaged pharmacists, the more passionate I become.
What are the challenges and rewards of working in this setting?
There are persistent assumptions about what pharmacists do; we’re often seen only as gatekeepers or suppliers of medicines. Residential aged care facilities (RACFs) have functioned without an onsite pharmacist for such a long time, so it’s hard to change their mindset and say ‘I’m here to help, let me take on these jobs that fit my expertise so you can prioritise those that fit yours’.
Onsite pharmacists need to come in open-minded, flexible and proactive, and show the RACF how they can add value. But when you do, the rewards are immense. I’m constantly in awe of how skilled, kind and generous the staff are – nurses, carers, leisure staff, allied health, GPs, and many others. We can directly see the impact and value we bring, both to individuals and at a systemic level.
Tell us about the training program for onsite pharmacists you’re developing.
UniSA, in collaboration with the University of Western Australia, is developing a dedicated, flexible workplace-based training program for Aged Care On-site Pharmacists – aiming to enhance their practical skills and provide opportunities to learn from and with others. We know pharmacists can effectively review medicines and lead on deprescribing. In aged care settings, the training program should also help pharmacists function as communication conduits to improve collaboration and information sharing by implementing case conferences into services, facilitating communication between health professionals, and acting as ‘detectives’, digging into histories and health records to provide essential information for decision-making.
What are the next steps?
It’s officially crunch time for this project. We are finalising the co-design element and working to make it available to all pharmacists in aged care settings who want to access it. My ultimate hope is that the program will offer a widely available peer learning network where everyone can learn from each other, with a structured component for those motivated to pursue it. I have also developed The Aged Care Pharmacist Podcast to provide a platform for pharmacists to share insights and hear from experts in various fields of aged care.
How could the ACOP program improve?
By allowing pharmacists to grow into more senior roles. The current model provides a wonderful opportunity to improve quality use of medicines, but there are limits to where we can progress.
Once pharmacists gain experience, we should be afforded opportunities to progress into system-level governance roles across organisations, as well as provide support and mentorship to new pharmacists coming through.
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[post_content] => With the expansion of pharmacy vaccination services across Australia, pharmacists are navigating an increasingly layered set of challenges.
Bill Wallace, PSA Pharmacist – Professional Support Adviser, outlines the most common vaccine-related questions that have come through this year.
1. Who can administer FluMist?
The introduction of intranasal influenza vaccine, FluMist, has prompted a wave of questions surrounding eligibility, prescribing and administration requirements.
Funding and eligibility differences between each state and territory are driving many of the inquiries.
‘We have had quite a few inquiries about whether [pharmacists] can administer FluMist to someone under 5 if they've got a prescription, which they can,’ said Mr Wallace.
State differences apply for initiation– Pharmacists in VIC, TAS, NT, and ACT are generally restricted to authorising and administering vaccines only to children aged 5 years and older. Whereas In NSW, WA, QLD, and SA, pharmacists can authorise and administer the influenza vaccine to children aged 2 and older.
Another recurring question is whether pharmacists who are not qualified immunisers can administer FluMist – given it’s administered nasally rather than via an intramuscular injection.
Mr Wallace noted that any vaccine administered by a pharmacist must be delivered by a qualified immuniser.
‘You need to be a qualified immuniser to meet the requirements for administering that particular medication. You'd be hard pressed to justify why you did it if something went wrong,’ said Mr Wallace.
The responsibility extends beyond simple administrative practices, and relates to professional accountability and emergency management responsibilities.
Mr Wallace noted that while serious reactions are rare, pharmacists still need to be prepared for any situation at hand.
‘If you weren't qualified and a claim was made, your insurer and The Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (Ahpra) would have many questions for you about your practice.’
2. Can pharmacists co-administer vaccines?
As Australia’s adult vaccination schedules get more complex, co-administration queries are becoming increasingly common.
‘Timing intervals and co-administration of vaccines is probably one of the more common clinical inquiries,’ Mr Wallace said.
Questions to the advice line often relate to whether vaccines can be given together, which vaccines require spacing, and whether they should be administered in one arm or both.
The National Centre for Immunisation Research and Surveillance guideline for vaccine co-administration and Australian Immunisation Handbook state that while most vaccines can generally be co-administered, separate injection sites should be used where possible, ensuring a distance of 2.5 cm between.
But Mr Wallace suggests pharmacists should also take additional care when reviewing Australian Immunisation Register (AIR) records and confirming patient histories to avoid inadvertent duplication
Particularly for older Australians, co-administration will be increasingly normalised for routine adult vaccinations (e.g. RSV, shingles, pneumoccocal, DTPa etc).
3. Can pharmacists vaccinate interstate?
Interstate practice continues to create a point of tension for pharmacist immunisers as requirements differ significantly between jurisdictions.
There are discrepancies between patient age eligibility, refresher requirements and additional accreditation, meaning pharmacists cannot automatically assume their qualifications transfer across all states and territories.
There are also differences between state and territory legislations which govern interstate pharmacists’ eligibility to administer vaccines, introducing barriers to interstate practice, according to the Immunisation Coalition.
‘Certain states, Tasmania, Victoria, and WA have slightly different training requirements … you need to ensure that you meet local state immunisation requirements prior to providing vaccinations,’ Mr Wallace said.
He stresses the importance of ‘checking what the differences are, and referring to resources like the local state pharmacist vaccination guidelines before administering vaccines’.
In some cases, pharmacists may need to complete an additional online module, although requirements vary. For example, the ACT has a Japanese encephalitis module that is required, and Victoria requires extra training to be able to provide certain travel vaccines.
Complicating matters further, immunisation requirements and eligibility for state and territory programs may change.
4. How do pharmacists maintain immunisation credentials?
Is it a matter of once a pharmacist immuniser, always a pharmacist immuniser?
Not quite.
According to Ahpra and state regulators, pharmacists must undertake annual immunisation-related CPD activities to maintain their currency.
‘Pharmacists must also maintain first aid every 3 years and CPR every 12 months,’ Mr Wallace said.
The PSA offers an online refresher training course which aligns with the current immunisation training. The training program consists of online modules to ensure a pharmacists’ accredited training remains up to date.
‘Some pharmacists did their vaccination courses a long time ago, with a much limited range of vaccines,’ he said.
‘There is also an Immunisation Practical Refresher Workshop that pharmacists can do if they've had a break in practice or want to refresh their technique.’
The online immunisation refresher course allows pharmacists to expand their training to cover all vaccines.
Looking for any answers to your queries? Hit up the Pharmacist Advice Line here.
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[post_content] => Once a disease of the past, diphtheria is rapidly re-emerging across Australia. Here’s what pharmacists need to know.
What is diphtheria?
A potentially deadly and highly contagious bacterial disease, diphtheria can infect the nose and throat, cause skin sores, and spread toxin through the body; in severe cases it can cause airway blockage, heart damage and nerve damage.
Respiratory diphtheria is the more deadly variant, and is typically spread through respiratory droplets, often when people cough and sneeze. Cutaneous diphtheria can spread through touching skin sores.
What are the symptoms?
Signs and symptoms of diphtheria include:
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[post_content] => AI is transforming pharmacy practice — but without the right safeguards, it can also put your registration at risk.
AI is no longer an emerging consideration for pharmacists – it’s already embedded in practice.
Using large language models (LLMs) such as ChatGPT to answer clinical questions and AI scribes like Heidi Health to capture consultation notes is becoming more commonplace. With agentic AI – systems that act autonomously on a patient’s behalf – now growing in popularity, the pace of AI adoption is only set to increase.
But these opportunities come with obligations – and without a distinct regulatory framework. Here, PSA Digital Health Lead and Victorian state manager Jarrod McMaugh MPS outlines the sixAI traps pharmacists need to avoid.
1. Entering identifiable patient information into AI platforms
One of the most significant risks pharmacists face when using AI is entering patients’ health information into AI platforms. Regardless of the purpose or the pharmacist’s intent, it may constitute a breach of Australian privacy law.
‘Let's say you were providing a Home Medicines Review (HMR) and you put the patient’s details into ChatGPT and asked, “What medicines is this person missing for their diagnosed conditions?” That would be a breach of privacy regulations,’ Mr McMaugh said.
‘Any information put into AI is stored. And therefore, where it is stored must adhere to the Australian privacy requirements.’
However, pharmacists who use LLMs to check for missed medicines or potential interactions can do so legitimately, provided no identifying information is included.
And while taking out a patient's name and address is a good first step, this may not adequately deidentify them.
‘You could prompt an LLM by saying, “I have a person who is taking medicines, x, y, z, and they have these diagnoses. Can you identify any missed medicines or any interactions?”’ Mr McMaugh said.
‘As long as there's no way to identify the individual, and it's just down to what is clinically appropriate, it's not a breach of any privacy matters.’
2. Assuming a business account equals compliance
You may think that moving from a free AI account to a paid business subscription resolves any compliance concerns.
But to be compliant, business or enterprise AI subscriptions must explicitly confirm that the platform meets Australian privacy regulations in the delivery of that service.
'You would need to be satisfied that the LLM, under contract, specifically states that it meets Australian privacy regulations,’ Mr McMaugh said.
‘It's similar to the agreement you have with your dispensing software [provider] or the clinical platform you use to record scope of practice work.’
3. Using AI scribes without proper consent
For pharmacists conducting clinical consultations, such as accredited and prescribing pharmacists, AI scribes can be incredibly useful for collecting and collating patient information.
But deploying them without meeting the required consent obligations creates significant professional risk.
‘You must get consent from the person whose session is being recorded by the AI tool,’ Mr McMaugh said. ‘And you must have the ability to turn it off if somebody says, “I want the service, but I don't want the AI tool recording our discussion”.’
For pharmacists uncertain about what adequate consent looks like in practice, he suggests the following approach: 'I'm going to use an AI scribe in this session. It will record our conversation and take notes on our behalf. It will create a copy that I'll keep on record, and you have the right to access that record any time you request it. Are you comfortable with me proceeding?’
Pharmacists should also ensure that the AI tool is not in an active learning phase, with systems that continue to learn from patient interactions requiring an additional layer of consent.
‘For the vast majority of pharmacists, that shouldn't be a scenario they find themselves in – unless they're involved in clinical research about an intervention or research about the AI tool,’ he said.
‘For the vast majority of pharmacists, that shouldn't be a scenario they find themselves in – unless they're involved in clinical research about an intervention or research about the AI tool,’ he said.
Pharmacists should confirm that AI dictation tools don't record voice snippets or retain details to improve the quality of their systems. Utilising AI models that are actively learning is generally not appropriate outside of a clinical trial with the accompanying level of consent seen in a trial setting.
Using an ‘active learning’ AI requires well documented consent for the person's health information to be used in this way, and is usually out of scope for most clinical settings.
4. Failing to check transcription accuracy
The second area of risk when using AI scribes is accuracy. While generally reliable, they can make mistakes; and the professional obligation to maintain accurate records rests with the pharmacist, not the AI tool.
To prevent errors, pharmacists should still take notes while the AI scribe is working in the background, particularly around critical details such as dosing.
'If you were in a position in the future where something has gone wrong and you're in front of AHPRA or another regulator, and they say, “Why are your notes incorrect?” just assuming that the digital scribe was doing its job is not sufficient for meeting your professional obligations,’ Mr McMaugh said.
AI and handwritten notes should also be reviewed at the end of each session, while details of the consultation are still fresh.
'If you use an AI scribe during an HMR interview and you don't review the transcript until a week later, how are you going to correct the information that it got wrong?’ Mr McMaugh said. ‘From a workflow perspective, and to adhere to professional obligations, you need to make sure it's accurate.’
5. Trusting AI output without checking the references
AI platforms can produce clinical responses that are well structured, but are actually incorrect. These AI ‘hallucinations’, where LLMs return fabricated or inconsistent information, are commonplace.
Another, more subtle risk is when LLMs draw on international sources rather than Australian-specific guidelines.
‘If you ask what the standard dose of a medication is, you might get a generally acceptable dose that's not applicable to specific Australian scenarios,’ Mr McMaugh said.
Antibiotic selection is a clear example, with resistance patterns varying between countries, meaning recommendations based on international data may be inappropriate or inadequate for an Australian patient.
'You should therefore always ask LLMs for references so you can confirm the information is correct,’ he added.
And don’t forget to check these references also, which aren’t immune to AI hallucinations.
6. Accepting an AI-generated booking as genuine patient consent
Agentic AI is a system designed to act autonomously on a person's behalf, booking appointments, managing schedules and completing transactions.
While these tools have the potential to streamline service appointments, such as vaccinations, pharmacists must be vigilant around digital bookings.
When an AI agent books a consultation on a patient's behalf, it’s not possible to confirm at the point of booking whether the patient themselves made an informed, active decision to attend.
‘If booked online, pharmacists should double-check that a person has provided consent to have a particular service when they come in,’ Mr McMaugh said. 'This is a good way to confirm that consent has been provided by the [person] receiving the service – not the AI that is booking on their behalf.’
To close any gaps in the consent chain, he suggests:
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Australian Pharmacist is the official journal for Pharmaceutical Society of Australia Ltd.
