We began the Pharmacist in General Practice program in 2015 with two pharmacists working in two practices in Western Sydney. We now have nine pharmacists working in 27 practices across our region.
On Saturday 29 October, we hosted the first Pharmacist in General Practice National Symposium where pharmacists, other health professionals and stakeholders explored ways to collaboratively deliver effective patient-centred, team-based care through the Pharmacist in General Practice program. The inaugural Symposium was an opportunity to share our experiences and explore new ways to make the role of a pharmacist in a general practice more accepted, expected, accessible and sustainable in the future. The discussions about the collaboration, integration and patient activation, engagement of the program and the input from our guests were invaluable in the workshops on the evolution and sustainability of the role.
Held at the WentWest office at Innovation Quarter and online, over 100 participants joined us, with some travelling interstate and intrastate to attend. Among our online attendees was a group in South Australia who gathered at one venue in Adelaide so that they could recreate the live event within their own region.
We had several speakers who presented on the Pharmacist in General Practice program and lead collaborative workshops:
- Tehani Gunasekera, Clinical Psychologist, explored the Acceptance Commitment Theory and the complex psychology behind engaging patients in their health and ways to help them stay engaged
- Dr Walid Jammal, Board Member of WentWest, the Western Sydney Primary Health Network, Board Member of the Western Sydney Local Health District and principal GP in a well-established general practice, talked about the Patient Centred Medical Home model and shared his views on where our health system can and should be heading
- Debbie Rigby represented the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia and is the founding chair of the Interdisciplinary Team Based Care Committee Community of Special Interest, who explored the journey Consultant Pharmacists have travelled so far since the start of this specialised role in the mid-1990s
- Tim Perry, our General Practice Pharmacist Lead, spoke about the Consultant Pharmacist Audit (CPAudit) auditing tool, which was designed to help evaluate the comprehensiveness of pharmacists’ consultations with a patient, that was tested in Western Sydney over the past year
- Chris Thornton, the co-author of the CPAudit auditing tool, then joined Tim to hold an interactive session with participants to use and test the CPAudit checklist that generated a discussion about the potential for infrequent auditing to help build clinical interview techniques
In the final session, our speakers discussed pharmacists working in a range of settings, from residential care facilities, people with disabilities, regional and remote areas to Aboriginal-controlled community health organisations.
We were pleased to see engagement and networking among the participants. Many shared very positive feedback on the discussions and are keen to join us at the next Pharmacist in General Practice National Symposium in 2023.
10 November 2022