The RACGP says it will fight any attempt to allow pharmacists to prescribe schedule 4 and schedule 8 medicines.

In a high-profile move, the Pharmacy Board of Australia has drawn up three possible models under which pharmacists could begin writing scripts.

They include structured prescribing, where pharmacists follow a standing order to care for low-risk patients as part of a multidisciplinary team; and supervised prescribing, where an individual GP would authorise a pharmacist to write certain scripts.

But the RACGP, in its formal response to the board’s consultation, says no, suggesting that pharmacy prescribing must not be applied to the primary care setting.