Edition #34 Newsletter

Who will win?
The technology is available to replace the dispensing pharmacist.
Is there anything wrong with this in the public interest?
The processes and laws are in place to make it happen, so just because a Pharmacy or Poisons Act says a pharmacist must dispense a prescription, does not mean it cannot happen.
Be ready, think smart.
In the last edition I asked who was awake.
There were two awake who let me know of their interest.
Yes only two!
Both were on the same subject, and both interested in future ways of dispensing that have the potential to remove a function from the "everyday" pharmacist. Was this to do with money?
Yes, very much, as both were interested in making money from processes that will take the place of dispensing.
It is only a matter of time.
Don't be fooled into thinking that your professional organisation, your industrial organisation, or the Government can protect you (the dispensing pharmacist) from the incursions of technology.
This is not George Orwell stuff, it is fair dinkum reality.
Machines in America and Japan will dispense from a doctor's prescription sent straight to the data warehouse, where technicians handle the automated dispensing process.
Shock - horror!
But where is the pharmacist who by law should check the final dispensed medicine?
Okay, if I told you the law was there to protect the public you may be surprised. You probably think it (the law) is there to protect the pharmacist against opposition. That, you might say, was what the review of the pharmacy regulations was all about under National Competition Policy.
Well there is news for you.
One of two things will happen.

Ø The law will be changed when it is found the cost of compliance is greater than the benefit to the public.

Ø Existing laws will be used to validate the safety of a new process.

If systems (technology) are designed by pharmacists, endorsed as safe to the public by the Government, (probably through the TGA and Code of Good Manufacturing Practice), and ratified as being within the law for the marketing of Scheduled products, it will happen.
So get with it - think laterally, and find the way you can make money in the 21st century through technology.

I hope this article stirs up a few more than the two from the last edition, and let us hear about a few more machines that will make the dispensing pharmacist redundant.
Maybe we will not, as the developers will think it might be breaching "commercial-in-confidence" information.
So what do we do? - wait for the bang!
No - start thinking - smart thinking.

Ends
Back to Article Index
Newsletter Reader's Forum

Previous Article

Next Article

Visit Rollo Manning's model relating to the
"Job of a Pharmacist"
There are periodic new postings keeping the model updated.

You can now visit Rollo Manning's website at
http://www.rollomanning.com
where Rollo would be pleased to share his other passion i.e the two Rugby's

The comments and views expressed in the above article are those of the author and no other. The author welcomes any comment and interaction, directly or via the Newsletter Reader's Forum Link located at the begginning and end of the article.
The newsletter archives are now fully searchable via the search engine on the left hand side of this page. If you would like to find similar articles to the above material, please enter the appropriate keyword(s). To retain context with multiple keywords or phrases, please enclose in inverted commas.
* Please contact us if you would like further information or would like us to research additional material to publish as future articles.	* Don't forget to advise of any change in your e-mail address so that your subscription may be continued without interruption.	* Letters to the editor are encouraged, or if you have material you would like published, please forward to the editor.	* Any interested persons who would like to receive this free newsletter on their desktop each fortnight, please send a single word e-mail "Subscribe"	* If you have found value in this newsletter, please share it with a friend, or alternatively, encourage a colleague to subscribe
* All Communications to: neilj@computachem.com.au
* You are invited to visit the Computachem web site and check out an organised reference site for medical or other references. Why not try (and bookmark) the Computachem Interweb Directory for an easily accessed range of medical and pharmacy links, plus a host of pharmacy relevant links. The directory also contains a very fast search engine for Internet enquiries. You may also access the Home Page at: http://www.computachem.com.au