The Pharmacy Board of Australia is developing a national standard for pharmacists to prescribe S4 and S8 drugs following a request by the country’s health ministers.

Since Queensland began its controversial pharmacy prescribing program in 2024, states and territories have granted pharmacists with extra training a mishmash of powers to diagnose and treat medical conditions.

This week, the pharmacy board revealed it was working on a pharmacist prescribing credential that would be recognised nationally.

Under the plan, pharmacists who completed a board-approved training course would receive an ‘endorsement for scheduled medicines’, listed on the AHPRA register, saying they were trained to prescribe.