RACGP – Optometrist prescribing powers bolstered

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Optometrists will probably be allowed to prescribe oral drugs if a brand new plan from the Optometry Board of Australia is profitable.

 

On Monday, the Board revealed its proposal to develop endorsed optometrists’ scope of observe to incorporate prescribing oral medicines for widespread eye circumstances.

 

Currently, optometrists can solely prescribe topical eye drops and ointments.

 

But underneath the plan, they’d be allowed to prescribe from an permitted listing of medicines, together with:

• antibiotics for folks with bacterial eye infections
• antihistamines for folks with eye circumstances brought on by allergy
• antiviral medicines for viruses effecting the attention
• emergency remedy for acute angle closure, a blockage within the eye that may trigger blindness if not handled inside a number of hours.

Optometry Australia confirmed that ‘no additional training would be required for therapeutically endorsed optometrists’.
 
The Board says the change will supply sufferers better entry to care, significantly in rural and distant areas the place folks could have problem accessing a GP or ophthalmologist for a prescription.
 
‘These proposed changes would give you the choice of visiting an optometrist or your GP, for the same eye condition. This may reduce waiting times and out-of-pocket GP consultation costs,’ it says.
 
‘The Board believes this will help patients access the right care at the right time.’
 
However, RACGP Rural Deputy Chair Dr Rod Omond stated that whereas the plan could also be good for affected person comfort, there are ‘certainly some risks’.
 
‘It has the same problems as other practitioners starting to prescribe, such as pharmacists and nurse practitioners, that it fragments patient care,’ he instructed newsGP.
 
‘This patient group, most of them are older and they don’t essentially know what drugs they’re on, and also you’re beginning an oral treatment that will work together with treatment they’re already on.
 
‘The prescriber may not necessarily be accessing the patient’s personal report with their GP and subsequently there’s a security difficulty for sufferers.’
 
Dr Omond added that it will likely be essential that each one data concerning consultations with sufferers, and their prescriptions, is supplied to their GP in a well timed method.
 
‘If they’re on a medicine and it’s not of their normal report, the GP could not find out about it after they subsequent go to,’ he stated.
 
Currently, there are greater than 7000 registered optometrists in Australia with virtually 80% of normal registrants having an endorsement to prescribe scheduled medicines.
 
Under the proposed adjustments, that endorsement would prolong to oral medicines.
 
Optometry Australia CEO Skye Cappuccio welcomed the progress, saying it’s ‘long-overdue recognition of the profession’s experience’.
 
‘Optometrists already carry the responsibility for identification and diagnosis of eye conditions, and this reform gives them the authority to complete management,’ she stated.
 
‘It streamlines care, reduces pointless referrals, and positions our career as a key a part of the well being workforce answer.
 
‘Optometrists are highly-trained, trusted health professionals and should be empowered to prescribe any appropriate medicine within scope – safely, effectively and for the benefit of every patient.’
 
The Optometry Board stated that if the proposal goes forward, the drugs ‘will initially not be funded under the PBS’ however offered at personal, non-PBS funded costs, which ‘will vary across pharmacies’.
 
‘The peak optometry professional association will try to get these medicines added to the PBS, to help make them cheaper and easier to access, but this isn’t assured,’ the Board stated.
 
Optometry Board of Australia Chair Stuart Aamodt stated the adjustments will give folks with eye circumstances extra choices and scale back the necessity to see a number of practitioners.
 
‘The evidence demonstrates that optometrists in Australia are educated, trained, and qualified to safely prescribe both topical and oral medicines, but to date have not been able to offer their patients all treatment options,’ he stated.
 
‘For more than a decade, Australian-trained optometrists who work in New Zealand have been able to safely prescribe oral medicines yet are not able to offer the same level of care here.’
 
But Dr Omond raised issues in regards to the plan’s danger of care fragmentation with out one practitioner main medical care.
 
‘You really need someone who’s taking the generalist strategy, simply as a normal practitioner is, and overseeing the entire affected person, not the affected person in bits,’ he stated.
 
Public session on the evaluation is now open, with submissions closing on 24 December.
 
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AHPRA optometrists prescribing rural and distant medication scope of observe