Following the recent direction from the Chief Pharmacist Department of Health SA, PDL advises that SA pharmacists may lawfully administer the following medicines:
- An unscheduled, Schedule 2, or Schedule 3 medicine to another person.
- A Schedule 4 or Schedule 8 medicine to another person, if the medicine has been lawfully prescribed and supplied to that person.
Before offering this service, pharmacists must:
- Confirm their Professional Indemnity insurance coverage – the PDL Master Policy automatically includes Professional Indemnity cover for members who provide this service in line with the Office of the Chief Pharmacist Update.
- Ensure administration is conducted professionally, is clinically appropriate, and ensure they are working within their scope of practice – including the skills and competency to administer the medicine.
- Complete all relevant training and education and ensure that this is refreshed and updated at required intervals.
- Comply with best practice guidelines, including PSA Immunisation Guidelines.
- Have immediate and ready access to relevant resources.
- Ensure clinical governance procedures are in place for service delivery, including systems for documenting occasions of service, referral, follow up with patients and incident reporting.
- Have knowledge of signs and symptoms of adverse reactions, and relevant management plans in place including an anaphylaxis management plan.
- Comply with all relevant legislation.
- Note that administration of travel vaccinations is not currently allowed by pharmacists in SA.
PDL encourages completion of an accredited medicines by injection course, as provided by the PSA or the Australasian College of Pharmacy. PDL also recommends that pharmacists working in community pharmacies undertake the necessary training early, to provide sufficient time to understand the logistics of implementing and offering the service in the workplace, including adequate staffing. PDL stresses the importance of obtaining patient consent prior to offering the service.
PDL resource for administration of medicines by pharmacists
The PDL Guide to Medicines by Injection can assist pharmacists in providing this service and is available to members in the Guides and Resources section of the PDL member portal.
For immediate advice and incident support, call PDL on 1300 854 838 to speak with one of our Professional Officers. We are here to support our pharmacist members 24/7, Australia-wide.
