Mixed views on Board

DATA from a social research project conducted on behalf of the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) found that just one-in-10 pharmacists associate the word “fair” with the Pharmacy Board of Australia.

However, more than two-thirds of pharmacists said they trusted the Board, with 56% saying they were confident it was doing everything it could to keep the public safe.

“I have faith that it is a properly established institution and have no reason to doubt their integrity,” one pharmacist said.

While another noted that “decisions on the whole are consistent and fair, but they need greater resources to protect pharmacy from negative franchise influence and indirect ownership”.

Of the 9% of respondents who said they did not trust the Board, one pharmacist say it was “out of touch with contemporary practical issues that pharmacists are dealing with”, while another sought greater transparency on its expenditure.

The 2020 social research project also found that 50% of pharmacists viewed the Board as being regulators in 2020, while 34% associated it with being “neccessary” and “bureaucratic”.

Less than one-in-four pharmacists felt the Board was “for practitioners” (down from 29% in 2019) with 24% viewing it as being “for the public” (a decrease from 28% last year).

The project also found health practitioners’ perceptions of pharmacists changed in 2020.

Compared with the average across all AHPRA regulated professions, pharmacists received significantly higher ratings for trust, being knowledgable, community-minded, approachable and hard working.

However, they received significantly lower than average ratings for their empathy, compassion and passion.