Pharmacists could soon be recognised and remunerated for clinical interventions with the advent of a new software program for community pharmacies.

PROMISe, developed over 10 years by pharmacy academics at the University of Tasmania, allows pharmacists to document their interventions and share and monitor drug-related problems.

“The de-identified data will ultimately be securely transmitted to a central repository meaning the Federal Government will have this large database of potential medication-related adverse events. They can use that to see what the major issues are and to educate pharmacists, GPs and consumers,” said chief investigator Professor Gregory Peterson.

A recent trial in close to 200 pharmacies showed those who were using the technology performed double the number of clinical interventions than those who were not.

“A pharmacist’s intervention can improve patient care through improved medication use and prevent hospitalisations caused by adverse medical events, potentially reducing pressure on hospital beds and saving the Government about $900 million in health care costs,” Prof Peterson said.

The research team has suggested to Government that pharmacists receive remuneration for recording the interventions.

“It’s an exciting shift away from the dispensing focus to more patient-related outcomes, where pharmacists will in some way be remunerated for their interventions,” Prof Peterson said.

The Federal Government has earmarked $97 million in the Fifth Community Pharmacy Agreement to roll out the software nationally, a process Prof Peterson expects to commence in the next year.

The UTAS project was in partnership with the University of New South Wales, University of Sydney, Monash University and Curtin University.