Question Time

Pharmacy Health Services

The Hon. T.T. NGO (15:21): I thank the Treasurer and the President. I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking a question of the Minister for Health and Wellbeing about pharmacists.

Leave granted.

The Hon. T.T. NGO: Some Australians do not visit their GP enough, especially men, who do not visit GPs for a variety of reasons including the increasing cost of visiting a GP and a lack of doctors availability. It was reported in the media recently that tens of thousands of Australians access free or low-cost pharmacy-run health checks and self check-ups for their health care needs.

If the results of the health check is concerning, pharmacists often then refer users to make an appointment with their local GP for closer examination. This provides a great way to encourage more people to access medical services and improve health outcomes. My question to the minister is: does the minister support these health check initiatives by South Australian pharmacists and nurses as the first step to encourage more people to visit their GP?

The Hon. S.G. WADE (Minister for Health and Wellbeing) (15:22): I would like to thank the Hon. Tung Ngo for his question. In terms of the underlying spirit of it, which is that pharmacists are an important part of the network of health professionals operating in our community, I wholeheartedly and vigorously agree. The honourable member highlights the value of health checks and I think the range of health risk factors being identified by pharmacy-based health checks is very useful. As the honourable member says, it is a gateway to the GP; it is not an alternative, but it is a very accessible form of health care.

A related element, which I heard of recently, is point-of-care testing for pathology-type issues which can be delivered at the pharmacy level. If I can acknowledge the work of the former government, and I don't know whether the Hon. Tung Ngo was a ministerial adviser for the minister at the time, but minister Snelling was a supporter of pharmacy-based immunisation, which I think has been very successful, and, whilst I will continue to patronise your clinic, Mr President, I certainly see the benefit of pharmacy-based immunisation.

I think the range of opportunities to use pharmacists to support health care going forward will become more and more strong. One of the issues that SA Health is finding is in relation to post-discharge management of medication. There is no doubt that pharmacists can provide a very valuable service in helping facilitate the successful discharge of patients, and helping them to review their medication post discharge.

Often, prescriptions given in hospital need to be, shall we say, linked to pre-existing medications, and community-based pharmacists provide a very valuable service. In terms of the honourable member's question in relation to health checks, I completely agree that quality health checks by well-trained pharmacists will provide a valuable service within the network of South Australian health services.