A trip to the pharmacy may replace a visit to your doctor. And I’m not mad at it.
GP left you on read? Your neighbourhood pharmacist has you covered! Well, at least for some acute medical treatments.
Imagine this: You're looking for a same-day appointment at your local GP to manage a minor medical issue—only to find that the appointment is fully booked or that it will take multiple days to see your usual doctor.
As I mentioned last month, it's an experience that's becoming more universal in Australia. And if we're honest, it sucks.
The good news? You won't need to go to the doctor to tackle those minor health concerns.
Pharmacies around Australia are expanding their scope of practice to include a broader range of healthcare services like issuing prescriptions and offering health advice for minor ailments like earaches, skin conditions, and UTI's.
Led by the Pharmacy Guild of Australia, the initiative aims to relieve pressure on GPs and emergency departments. National President and Cairns pharmacist, Professor Trent Twomey, explains the vital role pharmacists can play in this effort.
"Pharmacists are a critical part of a holistic health system. We are putting our hands up to do more, to take the pressure off GPs and, more importantly, to keep Australians out of emergency departments"
But as Professor Twomey stresses, it's not just about helping out healthcare providers; it's about making healthcare more accessible for patients.
"The good news is with more than 36,107 pharmacists working across 5,900 community pharmacies nationwide, access to health care services has the potential to be better than ever."
We're 'chucking a sickie' on our doctors.
So why are pharmacists stepping up?
According to new data from PR & insights firm Porter Novelli, 40% of Australians are waiting an unacceptable length of time to see their GP, with 1 in 10 waiting more than 3 weeks.
But outside of waiting longer, many Aussies are deciding to skip or put off their appointments entirely.
From our own research at Finder, we found that 46% of Gen Y and 52% of Gen Z put off seeing a health professional over the past year. For 75% of both groups, the reasons went beyond just financial concerns.
I'm no doctor, but surely that's not good for our overall health?
So what's the impact so far?
Since World Pharmacists Day (25 September) last month, Australian pharmacists have been re-tooling and upskilling to manage a wider range of health conditions.
Queensland, New South Wales, Western Australia, the Northern Territory, and the ACT have all launched individual programs.
Here are a few updates across the states.
- More than 4,130 women have been treated for UTI services in South Australia, which has led to a 21% reduction in UTI-related emergency department visits in metropolitan areas in the state.
- NSW pharmacists have been permanently authorised to treat uncomplicated UTIs since May 2024, following a successful trial in May 2023. Since then, more than 16,000 women have been treated at over 900 pharmacies.
- Both ACT Liberal and Labor parties have pledged to enable pharmacists to treat everyday conditions.
Flexibility is our friend
Fixing the overcrowding at Australia's GPs and emergency rooms may need a big-picture solution, but another way to manage everyday health issues is nothing to scoff at.
We've already seen health insurance providers like Bupa step up and offer alternatives to in-person healthcare. And according to Tim Benett, an Insurance Expert at Finder, more, is definitely the merrier.
"With the growth of telehealth services like Bupa's Blua, Aussies are increasingly seeing more flexibility with how they can take care of their health. With pharmacists now putting their hand up, there's even more choice on offer. That's hard to be mad about."
