1. Produced by The Alfred Workforce Development Team on behalf of DHS Public Health - Diabetes Prevention and Management Initiative June 2005 Engaging Pharmacists An untapped resource Module 5.5

2. DPMI Workforce Development – The Alfred Workforce Development Team June 2005 Core, untapped stakeholders in primary care Accessible and often the trusted first point of contact for consumers Open 6.18 days per week and an average of 55.5 hours Annually in community pharmacies (1) 78.2 million consultations around medications and health occur Counselling occurs on 14.42 million occasions Written or printed education material on 10.26 million occasions High levels of enhanced service with trained staff around diabetes At least 4.1 million patients referred to GPs, 1.77 million to health professionals and 44,000 to alternative practitioners (1) Berbatis CG, Sunderland VB, Mills CR, Bulsara M. National Pharmacy Database Project. School of Pharmacy, Curtain University of Technology of Western Australia; 2003.

3. DPMI Workforce Development – The Alfred Workforce Development Team June 2005 What pharmacists want Better communication with other providers Education and protocols around chronic diseases and self management Validated tools and resources for consumers Ways to bring consumers into pharmacy Maintained or increased income

4. DPMI Workforce Development – The Alfred Workforce Development Team June 2005 Barriers and facilitators Barriers to involvement are similar to GPs with pharmacists running a commercial business with time and resource limitations Facilitators to engaging in further primary care activities include dedicated counselling area and access to patient notes

5. DPMI Workforce Development – The Alfred Workforce Development Team June 2005 Ways to engage Representation on program steering committees Research of pharmacists needs Capacity building for pharmacists and pharmacy staff around topic and program e.g. using pharmacist role model and community providers to do this Building referrals into systems eg computer tagging, dispensing Home Medication Review Initiative pharmacists comprehensively review an individual consumer's medication regimen in a home visit following referral from a GP (1) [1] [1] Home Medication Review Initiative. Health Insurance Commission. http://www.hic.gov.au/providers/incentives_allowances/pharmacy_agreement/ab out_hmr.htm. Accessed 6/8/04 http://www.hic.gov.au/providers/incentives_allowances/pharmacy_agreement/ab out_hmr.htm