6Standards of practice

6 Standards of practice

An approved pharmacist must, in dispensing and supplying pharmaceutical benefits:

(a) comply with all legal requirements for the practice of pharmacy; and

(b) treat patients with dignity regardless of manner of payment, race, sex, age, nationality, religion, disability or any other factor; and

(c) comply with the Code of Ethics for Pharmacists (2017), published by the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia on 1 February 2017; and

(d) comply with the Professional Practice Standards – Version 5 – June 2017, published by the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia in June 2017, in relation to each patient, subject to the patient’s preparedness to:

(i) ensure that the pharmacist has ready access to the patient’s medication history; and

(ii) provide relevant personal medical information necessary for the pharmacist to individualise patient care; and

(iii) authorise medical practitioners and other health care practitioners to release relevant medical information necessary for the pharmacist to act responsibly and reasonably and to individualise patient care; and

(iv) allow the pharmacist sufficient time to dispense medications; and

(v) follow advice and directions given by the patient’s medical practitioner or pharmacist and report any unusual or adverse reactions as soon as possible; and

(e) maintain a disciplined dispensing procedure that includes:

(i) attention to accuracy of product or ingredient selection; and

(ii) accuracy of calculations; and

(iii) application of accepted techniques for the preparation of pharmaceutical products; and

(iv) appropriate packaging and storage; and

(v) accuracy of the final product; and

(vi) adequate information for the patient.

Note 1: The following are examples for subparagraph (d)(i) of ways that a patient could ensure that an approved pharmacist has ready access to the patient’s medication history:

(a) the patient having all medications, including pharmaceutical benefits, dispensed at or from a single approved premises for the pharmacist;
(b) the patient providing the pharmacist with the patient’s record forms (if any);
(c) the patient authorising the transfer of the patient’s medication history to the approved pharmacist.

Note 2: The Code of Ethics for Pharmacists (2017) and the Professional Practice Standards – Version 5 – June 2017 could in 2023 be viewed on the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia’s website (https://www.psa.org.au).