IPU want government to extend role of pharmacist
Calls have been made for the Health Minister James Reilly to extend the role of the pharmacist to provide additional vaccination services - such as pneumonia, Hepatitis B, cervical cancer and travel vaccines.
The Irish Pharmacy Union says their members should also be able to provide extra services, such as health screenings and a dedicated scheme to treat minor ailments.
Chairman of the IPU’s Community Pharmacy Committee Bernard Duggan says allowing pharmacists to provide additional services will save the state money.
"We're calling on the government at the moment to look at other areas like medicine use reviews, the new medicine service, improving access to medicine," he said.
"By doing that, you're going to improve patients' outcomes and you're going to deliver savings to the government in terms of providing services for increasing capacity in primary care and overall helping them to deliver on their primary healthcare strategy."
