First nurse practitioners, now this state has paramedic practitioners to prescribe S8 drugs
Thirty paramedics have started studying the requisite master's degree.
Paramedics with master’s degrees will diagnose and prescribe treatments for wounds, infections and fractures during ambulance call-outs under a new role designed to cut ED presentations.
The Victorian Government has passed legislation enabling ‘paramedic practitioners’ to prescribe S4 and S8 drugs from a list decided by the Minister for Health.
“This nation-leading legislation means paramedic practitioners are one step closer to hitting the road, providing urgent care to Victorians and saving them an unnecessary trip to our busy EDs,” Minister for Health Mary-Anne Thomas said this month.
She said 30 paramedics with at least five years’ experience had already started the master’s degree at Melbourne’s Monash University.
