Posts tagged as:

Remote health

Pharmacists in Remote Areas

by Robbo on August 31, 2009

Croakey (The Crikey Health blog) has recently had a post on Home Medication Reviews and the “thorny issue of interprofessional practice”. The problem of pharmacists providing a “complete” role in rural and remote areas was mentioned.

I couldn’t help myself and made comment. It can almost stand alone so I have reproduced it below. I guess there will have to be more to follow on this subject in a future post.

Regarding the impact on rural and remote areas:
Home Medicine Reviews (HMRs) in remote areas have long been problematical. As discussed, solo pharmacists in remote rural areas cannot leave their pharmacy to perform them. In truly remote areas there is usually no pharmacist as part of the primary healthcare team.

The Australian Pharmacy Council (of which all Pharmacy Boards are members) released a report in June 2009 on the Remote Rural Pharmacists Project (PDF) looking at ways for pharmacists to be able to work outside the confines of a pharmacy in remote rural areas.

The Department of Health and Ageing in December 2008 released a report by Campbell Research & Consulting on the Home Medicines Review Program Qualitative Research Project (PDF) that contain strategies for providing alternative models of HMRs to reach Indigenous consumers.

OATSIH has also recently funded a pharmacist position with an Aboriginal Health Service. If this continues and some points in these reports are acted on there is hope for better service delivery of HMRs by pharmacists in remote areas.

Robbo
(Disclosure: I had some input into both reports)

If you like this post and what else you see on the blog please subscribe by RSS feed (the orange button) or by email. Visit my subscription page.

Tagged as: Croakey, HMR, Home Medicine Reviews, Pharmacy, Remote health

{ 3 comments }

Radio Star?

by Robbo on July 5, 2009

in Remote health

Last Wednesday I was invited onto Radio Fremantle Community Radio Station for ten minutes or so to talk a little about remote health and also an upcoming polypill trial.

Many thanks to Kate Pearson host of the WAWA show.

For those really hard up for something to do you can find me saved in the archives until Wednesday 8th July. Scroll down Wednesday to the WAWA show at 1300hrs and click to listen to Kate’s show.

Over the last couple of months it has been difficult timewise to be able to post regularly. Keep staying subscribed, or check in regularly as I hope to improve on my recent poor record.

Robbo

Tagged as: radio, Radio Fremantle, Remote health

{ 1 comment }

A Future of Pharmacy – explanatory comments

by Robbo on April 21, 2009

in Pharmacy,Remote health

Yesterday’s post attempted to show what would happen with pharmacy in urban Australia if the norms of remote Australia were implemented.

Allow me to make a few comments that may clarify some of the points I made yesterday.

• Some pharmacies do an outstanding effort with their S100 support funds. Some communities still do not access these funds. Some services I have heard of from health services around Australia are pretty poor.

• From personal experience I am aware of conflicting advice within boards in a number of areas. The Australian Pharmacy Council to their credit have a process looking at way legislation can impede pharmacists in rural and remote areas from providing care.

• At least one state health department has also been looking at how pharmacy/pharmacists can work better in rural areas.

• The current business rules contained within the November 2008 S100 Pharmacy support kit state:

“It should be noted that any Outstation/s that do not meet this definition, will not be included in the calculation of the Allowance.”

With more health services going to a hub and spoke model to give support to health staff, with nurses and GPs providing regular clinics and on call visits, with visiting physicians being funded under MSOAP to visit these small communities the Guild feel we don’t have a place in the care of these patients.

Unfortunately this seems to have resulted from a query I put to DoHA who then spoke to the Guild. When this appeared in the draft document I mealed DoHA an received this response.

“Whilst there is technically a requirement for a full-time Health Worker to be employed at each Outstation, it is the Department’s view is that if a valid State/Territory Poison Licence for each of these is in place, and there is a ‘fully functioning clinic and medicines’ room in which ‘S4 medicines’ are stored, this would be adequate as a minimum requirement.”

• If you care about indigenous health please remove all sharp objects from your reach before you read the submissions from our pharmacy bodies to the National Health and Hospital Reform Commission

• Despite hearing some months ago that Qld PSA would be employing someone to deal with rural and remote issues for PSA the job has yet to be advertised. The board at PSA national also needs a member whose role it is to bring the issues before the board.

• The professional Programs and Services Advisory Committee (PPSAC) had alternative proposals to look at funding of pharmacists for remote health services rather than the S100 support service. . I can understand the Pharmacy Guild not liking it but what was the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia’s (PSA) position? There was no consultation that I am aware of.

If you like this post and what else you see on the blog please subscribe by RSS feed (the orange button) or by email. Visit my subscription page.

Tagged as: Pharmaceutical Society, Pharmacy, pharmacy guild, Remote health

{ 5 comments }

Can Bush Tucker Reduce the Burden of Heart Disease and Diabetes?

by Robbo on September 24, 2008

in Indigenous,Nutrition,Remote health

“A diet richer in kangaroo, emu, seafood and bush tucker, such as bush pears and yams, would help cut the burden of heart disease and diabetes in some Aboriginal communities” reports the West Australian newspaper. The co-ordinator of Aboriginal programs for the Heart Foundation (Western Australia), Lyn Dimer says messages to eat five serves of vegies and two of fruit each day were not being heard in remote communities. Also the storage capacity of fresh foods, availability and prohibitive costs were limiting factors.

I can vouch for the cost of fresh fruit. With deliveries perhaps held up by bad weather, the fresh produce does not always look so flash when it reaches us. And sometimes I wonder if these and the frozen meats that are sent out to us as they might not be the best quality, but we are too far away to complain and our need so much we cannot send it back. Perhaps not – but I wonder.

Bush Tucker is still an important part of the diet out here and to supplement it ‘roo tails from kangaroos shot in NSW make their way to us in the freezer truck. Lyn is encouraging aboriginal people in rural and remote communities to maintain their bush foods as it is healthy tucker. However there can be limitations on where they can hunt and some foods including plants, are becoming extinct.

Perentie

In desert country where there are now large cattle stations and a traditionally nomadic people are limited to a small part of their traditional country it may be difficult to find sufficient bush tucker without depleting the resource.

Witchetty Grubs

Also not to be overlooked is the benefits of collecting your food. Digging a two foot hole for your feed of witchetty (or bardee) grubs or tracking a kangaroo or Perentie (a lizard that may grow to more than 2.5 metres) for kilometres is also beneficial for reducing your blood sugar levels.

But none of this is nothing really new. There is a booklet available titled “Bush Tucker in Kidney Failure and Diabetes” that lists traditional bush foods from around Australia. It lists the taxonomic name, common name, a breakdown of energy, protein, fat, water, carbohydrates and minerals, with room for you to write the local name of the foodstuff. It also tells you what part of the plant or food you eat. In some cases it may be the leaf, fruit or animal organ.

Now this is one detailed breakdown. Look at the Bogong Moth. The booklet gives a breakdown of nutrients for the abdomen and the wings seperately, but also a breakdown of nutrient value for the whole moth. Now that’s detail you gotta love.

The booklet can be ordered or downloaded from the Kidney Health Australia Website