Both the AMA and RACGP are accusing the Pharmacy Board of Australia of shutting down meaningful discussion and ignoring serious patient safety issues in a “tightly orchestrated” forum on pharmacist prescribing.

The peak medical groups have now sent the board’s chair a stinging letter saying elements of the forum held in Melbourne on 30 October were engineered to prevent “dissent or even open dialogue or conversation”.

At one point, doctors were encouraged to write their concerns on Post-it notes and stick them on a wall at the back of the room.

The all-day event with 121 people attending was held by the board to discuss a national model for pharmacist prescribing, amid a push by various pharmacy groups for the freedom to prescribe S4 and S8 drugs free of any medical oversight.