Instant Script worries

PHARMACISTS are better placed to provide patient care than an algorithm, Pharmacy Guild of Australia Queensland Branch President, Trent Twomey, believes.

Speaking to the ABC about the emergence of disruptors in the healthcare space, particularly online prescription service, Instant Scripts, Twomey, expressed concerns about the focus on convenience over quality service.

The Instant Scripts service allows patients to identify a health issue, fill out a digital questionnaire, which is reviewed by a GP, with a prescription emailed to a pharmacy selected by the customer, where it can be filled.

Twomey said he was worried about the lack of direct patient interaction with the prescriber.

“While I have frontline clinical concerns, I’m heartened that there is a pharmacist who is ultimately dispensing that medication and having contact with that patient, even though the GP function is virtually non-existent,” he said.

“One company came to the asking whether we’d endorse it — naturally we did not — and we’ve had multiple and regular conversations with Queensland Health about the legitimacy of this particular service.”

Royal Australian College of General Practitioners Queensland Chair, Dr Bruce Willett, also voiced concerns about the service, warning of the potential for misdiagnosis.

“Often people do know what they need, but very often they don’t they get it wrong,” he said.