Aged Care on-site pharmacists

Overview

We are seeking feedback on the planned introduction of on-site pharmacists in residential aged care homes.

Having a pharmacist on-site will give residents and their families confidence that medications are regularly reviewed, appropriate, and will provide continuity in medication management. This positive change for older Australians responds to the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety, Recommendation 38, and will be rolled out from 2023.

The Aged care on-site pharmacists consultation paper outlines the proposed measure and how it will be implemented.

Have your say

We are particularly interested in hearing your feedback on:

• funding models for employment of on-site pharmacists
• the role of on-site pharmacists
• training requirements
• pharmacists and provider reporting, including the development of quality indicators
• how to transition from current arrangements.

Through this new measure, funding will be provided for pharmacists to be employed or engaged to:

• provide clinical service on-site in residential aged care homes
• meet the needs of residents and the facility
• address any issues around medication use.

Residential aged care providers, stakeholders and technical experts are encouraged to respond to the discussion directly to the team through email using the Aged care on-site pharmacists response table.

What happens next

We would like to let you know what feedback we hear and what we do with it. Please indicate whether you would like to receive feedback or participate in further consultation in your response.