Practice Alerts

Updates from our Professional
Officers

PDL members are kept notified via our regular email notices called Practice Alerts. We bring awareness to potential risks that could impede on the pharmacy profession. They are often sent reactively, from trends and incident reports conducted by PDL and other influencing bodies, in a bid to help our members avoid an incident. They can be national alerts or state-specific if connected to local legislation.

A wide range of guides and resources are also available to PDL members that have been developed to support pharmacists in their daily practice. 

Featured Articles

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Incident reporting 101

Pharmacists are at the forefront of patient care, ensuring the safe and effective use of medications. Despite pharmacists best efforts, incidents can result in complaints, even if there is minimal impact on the patient and immediate resolution has occurred. This

My Health Record insights from Meridian Lawyers website image

My Health Record insights from Meridian Lawyers

PDL Professional Officers occasionally receive incident reports and notifications relating to breaches or concerns regarding access to a patient’s My Health Record. Some of these cases require responses to the Australian Digital Health Agency (ADHA) and/or the Office of the

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Recognising when a pharmacist needs support

PDL Professional Officers continue to receive enquiries and incident reports that have contributing factors such as pressure, stress, workload or fatigue. PDL recognises the high demands placed on community and hospital pharmacists including interns, pharmacy owners and other staff members

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The art of saying sorry

Meridian Lawyers issue state and territory-specific guides It’s OK to say sorry. Pharmacists are human beings and fallible, so despite their best efforts, adverse events and mistakes can still occur. A key component of managing an incident is offering a

Dispensing, Legislation, Practice Alerts, QLD, Scope of Practice

UTIPP-Q pilot transition to EPA

Pharmacists practising in Queensland are advised the UTIPP-Q pilot has finished and the Urinary Tract Infection Community Pharmacy Service is now allowed under the Pharmacists Extended Practice...

Dispensing, National, Practice Alerts, Risk Management

Don’t fall for a forgery

PDL continues to see notifications involving forged prescriptions and would like to remind pharmacists of the need to be vigilant when assessing the validity of prescriptions. Forgery red...

Legislation, Practice Alerts, QLD, Scope of Practice

UTIPP-Q pilot latest announcement

Pharmacists practising in Queensland are advised that after Friday, 9 September 2022, new pharmacists and pharmacies will no longer be accepted into the UTIPP-Q pilot. The following update from...

National, Practice Alerts, Risk Management, Vaccination

Be alert with varicella vaccines

PDL has recently received several incident reports where the incorrect varicella vaccine has been prescribed and/or supplied. Prescribing software programs have variations on how the vaccines are...

Dispensing, National, Practice Alerts, Risk Management

Top 10 drugs in PDL incident reports

It is no surprise that the top four drugs on our list are Schedule 8’s (S8s). Dispensing errors can happen with any drug but the top four are also prone to diversion, forgeries and theft. Another...

Dispensing, Legislation, National, Practice Alerts, Risk Management

Schedule 8 medicines management – tips to avoid the pitfalls

Schedule 8 medicines, in particular opioids, are often involved in notifications to PDL. An Australian Institute of Health and Welfare report on opioid harm in Australia, published in 2018,...

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