Vaccination audits in NSW
NSW Health has commenced vaccination audits in community pharmacies to ensure they comply with all procedures necessary to safely vaccinate the public. If areas of non-compliance are identified, it is likely that the pharmacy and pharmacists involved in vaccination will be reported to the Pharmacy Council of NSW or NSW Health. Auditors will check off […]
Election of PDL Directors to the National Board
THE FOLLOWING VACANCIES WILL OCCUR AS OF THE DATE OF THE NEXT ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING TO BE HELD ON 19th NOVEMBER 2020 One Director for the State of Queensland One Director for the State of South Australia (with responsibility also for the Northern Territory) The two incumbent Directors whose terms expire at the 2020 Annual General Meeting are both entitled to stand for re-election. Call […]
What do I do if there is an accidental breach of my patient’s privacy?
Advice for health practitioners and organisations It is trite advice to Australian health practitioners to say that they must exercise caution when dealing with their patients’ sensitive health information. However, even the most cautious practitioner or organisation can fall victim to an inadvertent breach of patient privacy. Accidents happen, and Meridian Lawyers frequently receives requests […]
Common causes of incidents leading to harm or complaint
PREDNISOLONE Prednisolone is overrepresented in incident reports to PDL for a variety of reasons. Errors often occur when the 5 mg and 25 mg strengths are mixed up, which can result in under treatment or overdose. The dose printed on labels can also be involved in the error. For example, Prednisolone 25 mg daily for […]
Queensland Urinary Tract Infection Pilot program
Pharmacists may be aware of the Urinary Tract Infection Pharmacy Pilot – Queensland (UTIPP-Q) program. The UTIPP-Q program is a research pilot program to investigate the supply of specified antibiotics, without a prescription, by pharmacists working in Queensland QCPP-accredited pharmacies. PDL continues to support the profession and members in the provision of professional services. PDL […]
Notice of Meeting
The Pharmaceutical Defence Limited General Meeting will be a virtual meeting held on Thursday, 30 July 2020 at 11.00am (AEST). This meeting has been called to discuss the following agenda and consider and vote on the Resolutions. Agenda 1. Registration of Attendance, Apologies, Proxies 2. Quorum 3. Proposed Amendments to the Constitution (a) Resolution 1 – […]
Declining supply
The recent experiences of pharmacists dealing with the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic will help to inform practice into the future. One aspect of practice that has been highlighted at this time is the pharmacist’s role in managing medicine supply and declining to supply on certain occasions. PDL is aware of complaints to pharmacy owners […]
Top five tips for avoiding errors
1. Compare the millilitres vs milligrams dose Mixtures expressed in mg/ml are frequently implicated in dispensing errors reported to PDL. Examples of mixtures that seem problematic include methadone 5mg/ml, Ordine 10mg/ml and Predmix 5mg/ml. Not uncommonly, a script calling for a Predmix dose of 5mg is dispensed as a dose of 5mls which translates to […]
Incorrect collection of medication
Scenario: Community Pharmacy – present day “Prescription for Mrs Thompson” An elderly woman appears from behind a stand of hand sanitiser. “Are you Mrs Thompson?” “Yes” “Have you had this before?” “Yes” Mrs Thompson disappears out the door (quite rapidly given she is 86 years and 4 months old). Unfortunately, she is not Mrs Thompson, […]
Changes for Victoria from 1 April 2020
Victorian Pharmacist-Administered Vaccination Program People aged 10 years and older will be able to receive their influenza vaccine from a Pharmacist Immuniser. People aged 15 years and older will be able to receive their meningococcal ACWY, measles-mumps-rubella and pertussis-containing vaccine from a Pharmacist Immuniser. Pharmacist-administered mobile or outreach vaccination services will be possible. Read more […]
