In April this year the Queensland government took an unprecedented step when it approved a statewide trial that allowed pharmacists to provide the contraceptive pill and antibiotics for urinary tract infections without a prescription.
In the short term it offers pharmacists a quicker avenue to product sales and revenue, but in the longer term, as Dr Nick Yim argues, it sets a dangerous precedent of putting profit ahead of public health.
Yim, a GP who also attained a four year bachelor of pharmacy and spent time as a qualified pharmacist, explains why the government’s move should be cause for concern.
