May 2022

How community pharmacy fits into the locality model promised under the health reforms remains unclear but Pharmacy Today reporters Jonathan Chilton-Towle and Paulette Crowley spoke to leaders of the locality pilots to learn more about how they will work

It’s a truth sometimes acknowledged that in government policy, everything is a reaction to what went before. And so, it is with the health reforms.

Prescription drugs as well as common over-the-counter products have been hit by COVID-related supply issues on the other side of the world, Jonathan Chilton-Towle reports

Calls for rapid antigen testing to be carried out in pharmacy have fallen on deaf ears, with the Ministry of Health saying the move is unlikely to improve reporting of positive tests.

Pharmacist vaccinators were in high demand last month as “unprecedented” numbers of Kiwis lined up to get immunised against influenza. Jonathan Chilton-Towle reports

Pharmacy audit compliance has continued to fall, with just over 40 per cent of pharmacies achieving full audit compliance in the last reporting quarter. This is down from 44 per cent full compliance in the previous quarter and 49 per cent full compliance a year ago.

As pharmacists navigate COVID-19, workforce pressures have amplified, reaching a flashpoint that is breaking the industry. Paulette Crowley talks to sector representatives about possible solutions and what the future might hold for a sector that’s struggling

Many pharmacists, particularly young pharmacists, are feeling disillusioned, burned out and are leaving the profession. But amid the doom and gloom, there are great pharmacies around the country serving their communities, enabling pharmacists to work at top of scope and offering all the cool services they learned about at pharmacy school. In our new series “A great place to work” Pharmacy Today is highlighting some of these pharmacies. We start our journey in Greymouth on the South Island’s West Coast at Unichem Olsen’s Pharmacy and Unichem Te Nīkau Pharmacy.

A difficulty of matching relief workforce pharmacists with the locations where they are needed has hindered the usefulness of the Pharmacy Council initiative. 

After relocating from Ireland to New Zealand, pharmacist Justin Polley is now helping other pharmacists from overseas make the move, but it’s not easy, he tells Paulette Crowley