During your healthcare career, you may receive a regulatory notification. Regulatory notifications are a mechanism for the public to raise any concerns about their healthcare experience and are an integral part of the regulatory framework, aimed at upholding professional practice standards and safeguarding the public. When a regulator receives a complaint, they review information provided by both the complainant and the practitioner to assess the situation, understand what has occurred and evaluate if there is any ongoing risk to the public.
Building on our previous alert, ‘I’ve just received an Ahpra notification, what now?’, PDL acknowledges that receiving a notification from Ahpra or any other regulator can be distressing. In Ahpra’s efforts to balance public safety and practitioner distress, an Expert Advisory Group has made 15 recommendations and proposed 33 actions. For further information, read Ahpra – Improving the notifications experience.
It is important to note that most regulators are looking for the practitioner to reflect and treat the incident that led to the notification as a learning opportunity. Their focus is not to punish but rather promote patient safety. In terms of vexatious complaints, there is a system to identify and handle them. For further information, read Ahpra – Vexatious notifications.
Ahpra practitioner experience videos
Ahpra has developed a video series, ‘Understanding the practitioner notification experience‘, displaying the lived experience of receiving a notification. PDL encourages pharmacists to watch this series, as it provides perspective, insight and can help improve the notification experience. Throughout the series, practitioners share their personal experiences with regulatory notifications and share their emotions, reflections, lessons learnt, advice on what they might have done differently and the importance of seeking support.
The table below summarises some possible outcomes from an Ahpra notification, noting that most notifications result in no further action.
For further information regarding the above outcomes, visit Ahpra – Possible outcomes.
Resources
Navigating a regulatory notification can indeed be challenging and stressful. However, it is important to remember that there are numerous support services and resources available to assist you through this process.
To ensure you have the best possible support, consider utilising the following resources:
• PDL and the Professional Officers (24/7 support available)
• Employee Assistance Programs (if available to access)
• Pharmacists’ Support Service
• General Practitioner, psychologist, counsellor
• Beyond Blue
• Black Dog Institute
• Lifeline Australia
• Suicide Call Back Service
• Hand-n-Hand Peer Support
Other supporting services can be found at Ahpra – Support services.
For immediate advice and incident support, call PDL on 1300 854 838 to speak to one of our Professional Officers. We are here to support our pharmacist members 24/7, Australia-wide.
