AUGUST,Edition #32 , 2001

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As regular watchers of this space would know, the HIC has made a landmark decision in awarding an approval number to the Tiwi Health Board.
This has opened up debate as to whether it is a precedent, what benefits it would provide, and how it would affect the quality use of medicines within the community.
It was not until the 1970s that Aboriginal communities played any role in decision making about their own health.
With the advancement and foresight achieved by the Tiwi Health Board through procuring a pharmacy approval number, self determination in Aboriginal health care has been taken to a new level.
It most certainly is a precedent in terms of community control and, with the support of all relevant organizations, should result in improved health outcomes. Given that current Northern Territory law is the only state or territory which presently has no restrictions on pharmacy ownership, it is unlikely that this precedent will move to other states.
Remote Aboriginal communities throughout the Northern Territory, however, may in time see the benefits gained by the Tiwi people with the advent of their own pharmacy, and future community controlled pharmacies may results.
As I first stood in the proposed Nguiu pharmacy, it dawned on me how overcomplicated our view of community pharmacy has become.
The pharmacy will be there to provide access to a range of medicines without a two week wait. However, the Tiwi people will have to go elsewhere for their perfumes, stuffed toys and film processing.
The proposed pharmacy will be precisely what the people of Nguiu require and thus it services their needs directly.
The finances, technical issues and visiting drug representatives will be dealt with by the Tiwi Health Board, leaving the pharmacist on site to concentrate on counseling, the implementation of established pharmacy protocols and further education of the community as a whole.
Experimental?
Maybe.
Far-fetched?
Definitely not.
The approval of the proposed pharmacy by the Health Insurance Commission (HIC) is a step towards equality in primary health care for the Tiwi people.
As the Tiwi Health Board begin this leg of improved pharmaceutical service delivery, it deserves the unrestricted support of all professional pharmacy bodies to ensure that improving the health of the Tiwi people is the only item on the agenda.
Ends

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