Boost for community pharmacists’ education courses

Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora (Health NZ) and the Pharmaceutical Society of New Zealand (PSNZ) are working together to deliver some education courses for community pharmacists.

The agreement will see Health NZ fund education courses through the Society in clozapine dispensing, the community pharmacy anticoagulation management service (CPAMS) training programme, and COVID-19 antiviral medicine training.

The additional funding will ensure the courses are open to all pharmacists at no charge.

The education agreement is worth celebrating says Astuti Balram, Group Manager Primary Care – Living Well, National Commissioning, Health NZ and Society Chief Executive Helen Morgan-Banda.

“The contract represents a significant investment in the capability of the pharmacist workforce. It will also ease some of the cost pressures for pharmacists and helps maintain service delivery,” says Ms Balram.

Ms Morgan-Banda says the funding will remove any financial barriers to training, promote equity for providers, and boost the number of pharmacists equipped with the requisite knowledge to provide these services.

“The funding is recognition of the value the pharmacy workforce provides the overall health status of the country. Thank you to Health New Zealand for recognising the expertise of the Society in providing this key training for pharmacists, we appreciate your support.”