Queensland Government urged to stop trials of pharmacists masquerading as doctors

The AMA has called on the Queensland Government to dump plans to allow pharmacists to become “de-facto GPs”.

A push by the Queensland Government to allow pharmacists in the northern part of the state to diagnose and treat a range of potentially serious health conditions has been met with strident opposition by the AMA and members.

AMA President Dr Omar Khorshid has said the leaked North Queensland Pharmacy Scope of Practice Pilot - if it went ahead - would result in higher healthcare costs and poorer outcomes for patients.

Dr Khorshid called on the Queensland Government to rethink its proposal which he said, “involved serious conflicts of interest” and would “deliver second-rate health care”.

“If this goes ahead, we will see pharmacists becoming de facto GPs, encouraged to diagnose and treat a range of potentially serious health conditions – including prescribing and dispensing a range of medicines despite a lack of training.

“Pharmacists are not doctors. They are experts in medication and a key part of community health care but lack the necessary training and experience that makes General Practice such a critical part of our health system. When a patient visits their GP, all their health needs are taken into consideration in arriving at a diagnosis and treatment plan.

“The pilot proposes a very disease specific approach, which means there is a very high chance that serious underlying health conditions will be overlooked or simply misdiagnosed.”

Dr Khorshid said the proposed pilot was a slippery slope towards a model of care which rewarded pharmacists according to how many medications they can dispense – regardless of a patient’s needs.

He called on the Queensland Government to dump the proposed trial and instead work more closely with GPs to support better access to care and end the ideological war on General Practice in Queensland.

“There is no doubt that patients in regions like North Queensland need and deserve better access to care. However, bypassing the critical role of general practice and fragmenting care for patients will only worsen health outcomes for Queenslanders.  People in North Queensland are entitled to the same quality of health care as other Australians, not second-rate care led by pharmacists masquerading as doctors.”