A snap shot of salary ranges befitting current and future roles of pharmacists, and fair remuneration for their professional contribution was launched by the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia on July 27 in its new report Pharmacists in 2023: Roles and Remuneration.
PSA National President Dr Chris Freeman says that remuneration for Australian pharmacists did
not, in the main, reflect their skills, training, expertise or responsibility in the healthcare system,
and changing this is the most important issue for PSA members.
“As the complexity of pharmacy practice increases, pharmacists need properly remunerated and
supported career pathways,” he said.
“Our new roles and remuneration report provides the pathway to achieve increased
remuneration by 2023 – remuneration that reflects the value that pharmacists deliver in patient
care.”
In constructing the salary ranges, PSA looked at other health professions with similar training
and expertise, here in Australia, and internationally.
It is PSA’s view that the most appropriate mechanism to support increased remuneration for
pharmacists is to link remuneration with activity as well as the skills, expertise, and training of
the pharmacist.
“The Advanced Practice Framework is the most logical application of this and, while this may
take some time to implement, it is clear we need to forge a path that delivers better value for
pharmacists – we believe this is the way,” Dr Freeman said.
Dr Freeman says that PSA believed that pharmacists need to be valued appropriately in order to
retain the best and brightest in the profession.
“We will therefore continue to advocate for pharmacists – for recognition of their training,
expertise and role as custodians of medicine safety – and the reflection of these in remuneration
packages,” Dr Freeman said.
“We call on other stakeholder groups and the Australian government to work together to achieve
the necessary changes.”
