Pharmacy Council of New South Wales

The NSW Ministry of Health has received several confirmed reports of pharmacists being targeted to obtain Schedule 8 drugs fraudulently.

Early in 2020 there will be a number of significant changes to the pharmacy ownership approval process. Lodgement dates: There will no longer be lodgement dates for receipt of applications. This means that complete and compliant applications will be assessed and...

Readers may be aware of the outcome of the Australian Health Practitioner Regulatory Agency’s (AHPRA’s) prosecutions of individuals who were working as pharmacists whilst unregistered and the Health Care Complaints Commission (HCCC’s) prosecution of a pharmacist...

Fentanyl patches and oxycodone tablets together make up more than 50% of forgeries reported in the last 12 months, with benzodiazepines coming in next, such as alprazolam making up 9%. When dispensing a prescription for a Schedule 8 medicine, a pharmacist must verify...

Are you a compounding pharmacy who compounds for other stores in your banner group? Or provide compounded medication to other colleagues who do not offer a compounding service at their store but provide a “referral “service? Both compounding pharmacists and “referral”...

As we come into the traditional busy season in pharmacy, the Council has also continued to remain busy with an ever increasing number of notifications. We have noticed a number of complaints recently that highlight customers’ perceptions and expectations of...

Message from the President Welcome, introductions and important updates Welcome to the Council’s first newsletter in our new newsletter format and my first as President of the Pharmacy Council. I was honoured to take over the reins as President in April of this year,...

We receive over 300 complaints against pharmacists every year. Each complaint is assessed by us and the Health Care Complaints Commission. Responses are usually sought from the responsible pharmacist/s and then we consult with the HCCC to determine what, if any,...

Authority requirements for certain prescriptions has emerged as a knowledge gap for many pharmacists. Do you know what type of authorities are required for different prescriptions? Prescribing and dispensing: Recently, the Medical Council of NSW undertook interim...

I recently attended a conference for regulators of Health Professionals. One of the keynote presentations really made me stop and think about what I do day to day. The presenter spoke about competence and performance. Competence being what we CAN do and performance...