Flexible Care Packages A Good First Step - Pharmaceutical Society Of Australia

The implementation of the Government's Flexible Care Packages for people with severe mental illnesses has been welcomed by the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia as a first step in improving care in this area of unmet need.

Flexible Care Packages are designed to help provide clinical and case coordination services to support people with severe mental illness in the community and help them stay out of hospital.

They will be delivered through Medicare Locals that PSA strongly supports and which will provide a more collaborative model of care, with the inclusion of including pharmacists.

National President of the PSA, Warwick Plunkett, said pharmacists played a major role in the treatment of patients with mental illnesses.

"As the most accessible health-care professionals, it is often the pharmacist who is approached first by a person suffering mental illness," Mr Plunkett said.

"Alternatively, it can be the pharmacist who sees a patient regularly who can detect early signs of such an illness and suggest they seek help from a medical practitioner.

"Pharmacists are often referred to as the 'accidental counsellors' in the mental illness spectrum and their role in assisting patients with such illnesses cannot be under-estimated.

"In addition, medication compliance is essential for the control of mental illness and pharmacists' oversight is critical in ensuring this compliance."

Mr Plunkett said PSA had put forward a proposal in its 2011-12 Budget submission for a federally-funded network of liaison pharmacists which would see one salaried pharmacist for every Medicare Local to improve cost-effective health services for consumers with mental illness.

"This proposal also envisages the program providing a point of coordination and communication between the consumer, the primary health-care team, the community mental-health team including GPs, and hospital-based health professionals," Mr Plunkett said.

"Pharmacists are part of the health-care team and are increasingly being recognised as pivotal members of the primary health care model that is fundamental to the health reform process being undertaken in Australia at present.

"The PSA looks forward to working with the Government and Medicare Locals to ensure the Flexible Care packages produce the best possible health outcomes for patients in need.

"The Flexible Care Packages will help meet the needs of people with a severe mental illness and assist them in keeping healthy and out of hospital. Who better than pharmacists to be at the frontline of this initiative to help these people remain in the community and out of hospital."