Emma McBride (Dobell, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

World Pharmacists Day is being marked next Tuesday, 25 September. The theme this year is: 'pharmacists are your medicines experts'. I have been a registered pharmacist for 20 years, working in community and hospital pharmacies. I am pleased to support this day emphasising our role as trusted sources of knowledge and advice for not only patients but other healthcare professionals.

With medicine now the No. 1 intervention in primary care, it's appropriate that pharmacists play a role in managing medication use over the long term. The expertise of these highly trained health professionals can be better utilised by embedding pharmacists wherever medicines are used and empowering pharmacists to manage medicine use over the long term. Looking at pharmacists beyond dispensing can unlock opportunities for better health care.

This year, given the publication of new AF guidelines in the hearts4hearts white paper Time to change the beat, which refers to the increased role in screening for AF by GPs and pharmacists, some pharmacists will be providing blood pressure and AF screenings to open up conversations about medicines their patients may be taking, such as blood pressure medication. It is also an opportunity to discuss potential side effects they may be having with their medications, discuss drug-drug and drug-disease interactions and refer patients to their GPs where appropriate. That's why I will be at Tuggerah Westfield on Tuesday, 25 September, to celebrate the role of pharmacists and World Pharmacists Day.

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