August 2018
in this month's edition:
- Integrated Community Pharmacy Services Agreement
- PSA Conference
- Auckland University Research Study
- Pharmac - Rivaroxaban
- College courses
- Intern Training Days
Integrated Community Pharmacy Services Agreement
The following announcement comes from TAS regarding the integrated community pharmacy services agreement:
Kia ora national pharmacy, health and consumer groups
We are delighted to announce the new contract for pharmacy services, the Integrated Community Pharmacy Services Agreement, supported by pharmacy sector representatives and due to come into effect on 1 October 2018. The new contract has changed considerably from the contract proposed during consultation earlier this year, and reflects the feedback received. A sincere thank you to everyone who contributed their thoughts on the DHB's proposal on how to take the next steps to deliver on the Pharmacy Action Plan .
The contract is the outcome of discussions over recent months with sector representatives and other bodies including community pharmacy groups, consumer representatives, the Pharmaceutical Society and the Pharmacy Council. It is a key step in enabling delivery of the Pharmacy Action Plan, and the government’s desire for health services to be delivered closer to home, and to reduce inequity by providing additional support to the most vulnerable populations.
Maintaining access to pharmacy services is critically important, and DHB's recognise the ability of community pharmacy to advance national health objectives is dependent on its sustainability. DHB's expect to increase their spend on community pharmacy by more than $20 million in the first year of this contract, including volume growth, new payments and new local services.
Key changes since consultation, at a glance:
- The name of the contract specifically refers to community pharmacy, and only licensed pharmacy owners will be able to sign this contract.
- Dispensing and advisory services, and the funding for them, have been put back together in one Schedule. An agreed process for any future changes to this approach is clearly set out in the contract.
- Everyone who signs the contract will get an Additional Professional Advisory Services Payment, to recognise the value DHB's place on advisory services that are not connected to a dispensing.
- Processes have been clearly defined for national annual review of the contract and for local commissioning.
If you are interested in learning more about the new contract, you can find more information here including the new contract, a more detailed explanation of the changes to the contract since consultation, an explanation of the funding for the new contract, and an FAQ.
We welcome your future involvement in the development of new local services. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us.
Ngā mihi
Dr Kevin
Snee
Lead Pharmacy Chief Executive
20-DHB's
Chief
Executive, Hawke’s Bay District Health
Board
Carolyn Gullery
Lead Pharmacy General Manager 20-DHB's
Executive
Director, Planning, Funding & Decision Support, Canterbury and West Coast
District Health Boards
PSA conference 27 - 29 July 2018 SYDNEY
PSNZ President Graeme Smith and FIP ( Fédération Internationale Pharmaceutique ) CEO Dr Catherine Duggan at PSA (Pharmaceutical Society Australia) Conference
Dr Catherine Duggan was the international keynote speaker and participated in a number of hot topic panel sessions. Catherine is CEO of FIP based in the Hague. Prior to this appointment Catherine was the Director of Professional Development at the Royal Society of Great Britain. Catherine has worked in community, primary care, hospital and academia. Her career provided inspiration for the NZ ECP’s.
Professional meetings and learning at PSA Conference
Society Branches funded a number of Early Career Pharmacists to the Pharmaceutical Society Australia conference in July. NZ and Australian ECP’s spent time exchanging views and learning from each others experiences.
“We came away with ideas and opportunities for our professional roles back in NZ.”
“The conference was invigorating and showed such a positive and exciting future for us.”
Society CEO, Practice and Policy Manager and the Education and Training Manager had meetings with Australian counterparts, sharing learning products and policy approaches. Organisational change and growth in supporting structures and services for a profession on the move , was discussed, along with leadership and management training.
The evolution of practice across healthcare
settings; digital disruption; innovation; voluntary assisted dying in
Victoria; clinical decisions around biologics and biosimilars, were some of the
many popular sessions for the 1,000 attendees.
auckland university research study
New zealand (NZ) Community pharmacist-based support for people with long term health conditions focussing on diabetes: pharmacists' perspective
The aim of this study is to assess the attitudes and confidence of community pharmacists currently practising in New Zealand when providing care for patients with type 2 diabetes, and to explore their job satisfaction.
This project is one of the two P410 projects being offered in 2018 looking at aspects of this issue from the perspectives of two stakeholder groups: community pharmacists and consumers. The projects are part of an international study addressing these issues in seven developed countries. The study will explore the views and practices of community pharmacists in New Zealand relating to chronic disease management, in particular type 2 diabetes.
The authors aim to draw comparisons with
studies done overseas to find aspects in which New Zealand pharmacists are
doing well in but also where improvements are needed.
This survey is expected to take 10
minutes
to complete and is anonymous.
To help us with this work and complete the questionnaire please click on the following link: https://auckland.au1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_ctHpNdXcXQlA2hv
Pharmac - rivaroxaban is funded from 1 august 2018
From 1 August 2018 Rivaroxaban (in 10 mg, 15 mg and 20 mg) will be funded with no Special Authority. Note: the 10 mg tablet will have a restriction limiting the dose to one tablet per day.
PHARMAC have worked with their partners to develop resources for health
care professionals and consumers to learn about the safe and appropriate use of
rivaroxaban. They include:
- BPACnz article: Rivaroxaban: a fully-subsidised oral anticoagulant
- PHARMAC Seminar online: Anticoagulation update
The HealthNavigator website have also produced consumer information on Rivaroxaban, including a downloadable leaflet, which may be useful in discussions with consumers.
college courses
a changing treatment landscape?
Current use of biologics in Rheumatology, Gastroenterology and Dermatology Programme
Biologics, also known as biologic therapies or biologic response modifiers have become an important part of modern healthcare. These drugs are derived from living material and interfere with specific parts of the body’s immune system. Patients with severe immune-mediated inflammatory disease, e.g. rheumatoid arthritis, Crohn’s disease or psoriasis, often respond well and relatively quickly to treatment with biologic medicines.
Join
this 9 week programme to learn about the development of biologics, efficacy,
common adverse effects, monitoring, when these agents would be initiated and
more!
This
programme will be presented by Dr Rebecca Grainger (rheumatologist), Dr Stephen
Inns (gastroenterologist) and Dr Gerhard Eichoff (dermatologist) who will focus
on the use of biologics in their specialty and cover practical considerations such
as specific monitoring, commonly co-prescribed medicines and funding.
Remember
this training can be part of your Group 3 learning goal on biologic therapies!
Look out for enrolment details coming soon!
Upcoming webinar: how dense are you? how to assess and treat osteoporosis - tuesday 21 august 2018 7.30pm
Presented by: Dr
Anna Fenton
Worldwide,
osteoporosis causes more than 8.9 million fractures annually, resulting in an
osteoporotic fracture every 3 seconds.
Pharmacists can play a key role in educating patients about the management of
osteoporosis to help reduce the risk of fractures.
Join
this live webinar presented by Dr Anna Fenton to learn about the importance of
osteoporosis as a medical problem, the risk and benefits of osteoporosis
therapies, particularly the bisphosphonate, and techniques for measuring bone
density.
Click
here for further details and to
enrol.
World breastfeeding week
World Breastfeeding Week is celebrated every year from 1 to 7 August to encourage breastfeeding and improve the health of babies around the world.
Pharmacists play an important role advising about the safe use of medicines during breastfeeding. To ensure your knowledge is up to date, see the ON DEMAND courses available below.
available on demand
psychotropic medication use in pregnancy and breastfeeding
Did you know that 25% of women suffer from depression either during or after pregnancy? It is highly likely you will see antidepressants and other psychotropic medications being prescribed for your pregnant and breastfeeding patients.
Enrol
in this course to learn about assessing the safety and risks of various
psychotropic medication use in pregnancy and breastfeeding, including
antidepressants, antipsychotics, anti-epileptics and benzodiazepines.
Successfully complete
the associated assessment to obtain 4 Group 2 ENHANCE points.
Click here for further details and to
enrol.
medications and breastfeeding
Literature shows that over 90% of breastfeeding women take at least one medication at some point whilst they are breastfeeding.
With
this in mind, it is important for pharmacists to be able to confidently advise
patients whether a medication is safe to use during breastfeeding.
Join
this course to learn about the principles of drug transfer into breast milk and
factors affecting infant exposure, counselling skills on the safety of taking
drugs during breastfeeding and how to resolve conflicting information from
different breastfeeding resources.
Click here for further details and to enrol.
intern training days
The EVOLVE team are currently travelling around the country for August Training Days. This is the second set of face to face training of the year, with each intern attending 3 days in Auckland, Wellington or Christchurch.
At August Training Days interns learn about pharmacist only medicines; medication devices and how to counsel patients about them; medicine information queries; paediatrics; wound care; diabetes; mental health; quality improvement and dispensing errors; and law & ethics. Interns also have the opportunity to have a one on one meeting with an EVOLVE team member to discuss their personal progress and goals for the year.
EVOLVE is grateful for the support of expert pharmacists who come and share their knowledge at the various sessions. Interns comment on how valuable it is to hear from specialists in their fields and how training days open their eyes to the different roles pharmacists have. Interns leave Training Days with a renewed enthusiasm for the profession and the remainder of their journey towards registration as pharmacists.