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How this year has flown!
Like fast.
I am now convinced that 12 months is not the length of time it always was.
This seems to be the case for everyone I speak to but in review this brief span of time has been filled with great things and new adventures at least in my professional arena.
Working with GPs over three years has given me an in-depth appreciation of the operation of a medical practice, professional issues GPs are contending and the interests they have in a very diverse practice area.
I have made great friends and I hope won their respect for an expertise that can make a difference to their better practice.
This year particularly has been interesting as the introduction of new MBS items has focused attention on 'what GPs do' for their patients and the potential for better health outcomes as they are encouraged to work collaboratively with health professionals outside their surgery walls.
Pharmacists and what they can offer has come under close scrutiny at the many meetings our Division has held to familiarise GPs with the options and operation of Care plans, annual health assessments, case conferencing and new initiatives in Diabetes and Asthma management.
Recently the introduction of DMMR has introduced yet another new initiative the Commonwealth Government is prepared to fund.
I have really enjoyed the opportunity to work with this closely allied profession group in an arena where I am now trusted and known.
This has been the essential aspect of being able to deliver my own expertise in a forum from one to one to a meeting where over 30 GPs are ready to listen and contribute to a 'pharmaceutical' view.
It has been very positive and I know from comments received it has been appreciated.
I have said this before but in a review of the past year I will restate what has been very obvious to me.
That is that pharmacists and GPs have more in common than they have differences.
Each runs a small business with all the day to day incidents and worries associated with that and also the larger worries of the future and large corporates threatening to demolish their future or alter it in a major way.
In this milieu each has the well being of the patients/customers as the prime concern.
Accreditation and the imposition of new innovations and ways of practice as a way forward are vexing many and adding demands for time in an already packed full schedule.
Continuing Medical Education (CME) demands parallel pharmacists near mandatory education expectations and add hours often to an already super humanly demanding work schedule.
And the paperwork !!
I nearly believed the other day that GPs were more inundated than pharmacists with the demands after the door has closed.
If it is not more then it is at least as voluminous and demanding.
Then there is the issue of computerisation.
I think pharmacists are steaks ahead of our GP colleagues, but in time with all the initiatives that are on the table at the moment and Internet transfer of information they will catch up with the use of computers in all aspects of medical practice.
At present they are used mainly for accounts, front desk and prescription writing but there is the option of pathology tests down loaded, patient histories recorded, scanning of the many documents that at present fill the office files and recall systems for management of population health.
And many other facilities not yet dreamed of.
There are a couple of small but significant differences I note.
One is the ability to leave the surgery and attend to things outside, close for lunch and have time for a meal, schedule the workload to some extent at least with an appointment system and exercise some control over the day.
One of the comments I receive at meetings when discussing the proposed DMMR service is that GPs are well aware of the fact that pharmacists are shackled to the 'shop'.
They know our hours are long and the possibilities of getting out to visit patients and meet with GPs is difficult for most pharmacists in the local pharmacy to organise at least in 'normal' hours for elderly patients.
So the question asked is what is the time frame for a referred DMMR?
They are not quite ignorant of a pharmacist's situation and appear to be sympathetic.
Looking ahead I can see the next twelve months coming quickly and offering further challenges to those of this past year.

I wish you all a happy and joyful festive season and that the New Year heralds in health, happiness and peace for all. Heather Pym

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