National vacancy for Professional Officer
Professional Officer Pharmaceutical Defence Limited (PDL) is a member owned organisation supporting around 30,000 pharmacist members and the pharmacy profession. The leading risk advisors to the profession, PDL’s incident support service is dedicated to members around the clock, for confidential, expert advice. The professional indemnity policy for pharmacists provided by PDL covers everything in the […]
Be alert but not alarmed
It is not surprising that approximately 60% of reports to PDL involve dispensing errors. The PDL Professional Officers collate these reports and identify the sub-categories of dispensing error. The two most frequent error types reported are: Wrong drug supplied Wrong strength supplied of the prescribed drug Causes of these errors include: Incorrect data entry of […]
Renew with Ahpra during November
PDL reminds all members that Ahpra renewal of registration is due by the end of this month (November 2020). We offer this reminder as PDL is contacted every year by a few pharmacists who have neglected to renew their registration. This seems to occur if contact details such as email addresses, postal addresses or mobile […]
Oral chemotherapy prescriptions
With an increase in accessibility of oncologists and haematologists, it has become more common for prescriptions for oral chemotherapy as well as adjuvant medications to be presented to community pharmacies. Patients may be undergoing treatment in either public or private sectors as well as regional centres. While affiliated pharmacies for the treatment centres may dispense […]
New PDL Director for SA & NT
PDL’s recent Director election for South Australia (with responsibility also for the Northern Territory) has seen Ian Todd elected to the role. In a closely contested ballot, Ian earned the position over fellow candidates Paula Kwan, who previously held the position, and Steve Morris. Ian has more than 20 years’ experience as a member advocate […]
Notice of Annual General Meeting
Notice is hereby given that the 108th Annual General Meeting of Pharmaceutical Defence Limited will be a Microsoft Teams Meeting on Thursday, the 19th of November 2020 at 11:00am AEDT when the attendance of members is requested. This meeting has been called to discuss the following agenda and consider and vote on the Resolutions. Agenda […]
Dosage administration aids
PDL is aware that most community pharmacies and hospitals supply or encounter dosage administration aids (DAAs). Despite their purpose to enhance compliance and minimise dosage errors, PDL still receives many reports involving incidents and errors relating to the supply of DAAs. Pharmacy owners and employed pharmacists need to be cognisant that this can be an […]
Salbutamol supply changes from 1 October
PDL has spoken with many pharmacists impacted by the changes to S3 supply requirements for salbutamol inhalers made by TGA earlier this year. These changes created difficulties for pharmacists and clients when a diagnosis of a respiratory condition or prior history of supply from the pharmacist could not be confirmed. PDL is pleased to advise […]
No half doses in pharmacy ownership
A reminder to pharmacy proprietors of their key responsibilities Meridian Lawyers regularly assists a range of healthcare professionals to understand the legal and professional obligations that attach to their particular profession. Recently, in NSW, we have assisted a number of proprietor pharmacists who have come under close scrutiny by the Pharmacy Council of NSW following […]
Incidents involving drugs of dependence
The PDL Professional Officers often see incident reports or regulatory notifications involving high risk medications such as S8 items and benzodiazepines. These incidents can involve incorrect quantities, strengths or formulations. PDL reminds members that extra care should be taken when performing a final check to ensure the patient is receiving the prescribed medication. Pharmacists can […]
