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President’s Blog: Doctor Pharmacist: Cui Bono?
Friday December 13, 2024
The recent announcement by Federal Health Minister Mark Butler that pharmacy schools would soon be able to graduate pharmacists with the ability to use the title “Doctor,” had a mixed response amongst both doctors and pharmacists. It was most warmly welcomed by the Pharmacy Guild President, Trent Twomey, who made the claim that it appropriately respects the education and training of pharmacists and brings them into line with other health professions.
Which ones is Mr Twomey referring to, other than ours? Chiropractors, whose reputation for selling unproven remedies is perhaps only eclipsed by retail pharmacy?
So, who benefits from pharmacists using the Doctor title? There is absolutely no benefit for patients in this, and potentially harm as pharmacy customers might start to believe that they are being consulted by a doctor, rather than someone simply using the title. Many community pharmacists aren’t actually supportive of this type of role-playing, preferring to get on with the job that they are actually trained for, enjoy doing and are good at. We all know that Mr Twomey’s real motivation for appropriating the Dr title, just as when he wore a stethoscope for the announcement of one of the many pharmacist prescribing programs a few months back, is to blur the lines between pharmacists and doctors to create new consultation-based revenue streams for his members, the pharmacy owners.
In any case, doctoral-level pharmacy degrees have existed in some countries for a long time. American pharmacists graduate with a PharmD, or Doctor of Pharmacy. The sky hasn’t fallen in there, so perhaps we shouldn’t be too concerned about it, but it is nonetheless illustrative of the Guild’s motivations and methods. There has been virtual silence on the announcement from the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia (the professional peak body for pharmacists), Advanced Pharmacy Australia (the peak body for hospital pharmacists) and indeed the bestowers of these new gilt-edged degrees, the pharmacy schools themselves. The Guild, representing the owners of retail pharmacies, seems to be the most pleased of the lot. That should tell us everything.
