Are pharmacists prioritising treating UTIs without antibiotics? Officials don’t seem to know
The government says access to care in under 24 hours for 93% of patients was a sign of success.
The Victorian Government says easy access and patient satisfaction are reasons it is entrenching pharmacy prescribing for UTIs and contraceptives.
However, it has not revealed how many of 10,680 pharmacist consultations to diagnose UTIs ended with antibiotic dispensing, when protocols stressed that first-line treatment was “conservative management with non-prescription medicines”.
A report evaluating the pharmacist prescribing pilot, published on Friday, said pharmacists provided 6316 services for contraception, 5987 for vaccination and 231 for shingles or psoriasis in a year.
Of 5247 patients who responded to surveys sent via text or email, 93% said they accessed a pharmacy consult within 24 hours of seeking care.
