After last month's exploration of the realms of future pharmacy I thought that I would take a little time to reflect on where pharmacy consultancy stands at present.
Neil, when calling for this month's contribution, asked how accreditation was progressing in WA so I thought I would do a little investigating.
AACP could not give me an exact figure on the number of pharmacists actually accredited here in the West but said that "there were lots".
I can accept that as being fairly accurate, given the number of pharmacists I have visited in my job over the past four years who have either received accreditation or who were working towards it.

Neil asks if there are there sufficient numbers to ensure that the new cognitive services being proposed can actually be delivered.
This question I cannot answer with any degree of certainty but I have concerns that the truth might be - No there are not enough to fully meet possible demand.
Why do I fear this?
Simply because when talking to an accredited pharmacist with one of the divisions of general practice I was asked if I knew of any consultant pharmacists that doctors associated with that division could call on to carry out medication reviews.
It seems that most of the accredited pharmacists in WA have very little excess time available to take on more work.
This, if true, is a major worry and has the potential to undermine much of the effort expended over the years to promote pharmacists as the people to be called on for quality use of medicines advice.
If we offer ourselves as consultants we must be, within a reasonable timeframe, available when the service is needed.
I am aware that you may have to wait for many weeks before seeing some medical specialists but pharmacy consultancy is still in its infancy and has to be ready to perform on call to built up "street cred" within the medical profession.
This requires sufficient numbers of accredited consultant pharmacists available to carry out the services.
Currently there are two bodies accrediting consultant pharmacists, AACP and the Society of Hospital Pharmacists, although I personally know no-one who has gone down the SHPA route.
AACP has made tremendous strides in its accreditation process since I initially went through it about five years ago.
However it is very time consuming, a fact that makes many interested pharmacists have second thoughts about seeking accreditation and many be a cause of the shortage of suitably qualified practitioners.
The Pharmaceutical Council of WA has acknowledged the need to address the problem of inadequate numbers of accredited pharmacists and in its latest newsletter (arriving in yesterday's mail) is calling for expressions of interest from pharmacists wishing to seek accreditation.
If there is sufficient interest PCWA will then run training courses to assist pharmacists wanting to complete Stages 1 and 2 of the accreditation process.
I must commend the Council for this initiative and sincerely hope that it is overwhelmed in the rush of interested pharmacists!
There are a number of highly motivated, usually younger, pharmacists out there who want to improve their skills and become consultants and it is very pleasing to see that those in authority in WA pharmacy are indicating a willingness to help them.