{"id":381670,"date":"2026-04-16T01:25:13","date_gmt":"2026-04-16T01:25:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/381670\/"},"modified":"2026-04-16T01:25:13","modified_gmt":"2026-04-16T01:25:13","slug":"expanded-role-for-pharmacists-announced","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/381670\/","title":{"rendered":"Expanded role for pharmacists announced"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cIt will make it easier for children and families to get timely care for simple conditions, particularly when a GP appointment isn\u2019t immediately available, while also supporting more consistent access to care across the country.\u201d<\/p>\n

Health New Zealand<\/a> had budgeted $5 million for the changes nationwide, which would be up and running from June.<\/p>\n

Pharmac\u2019s consultation on the proposal begins on Wednesday, and would allow pharmacists to directly provide:<\/p>\n

Treatment for scabiesOral rehydration for childrenPain and fever management for childrenTreatment of head liceTreatment for conjunctivitis for children <\/p>\n

Brown said a family with three children could currently be paying up to $100 for head lice shampoo over-the-counter from a pharmacy, but under the proposal it would be the $5 subsidised rate, or free with a Community Services Card.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s a significant saving, but also the time that is saved without having to go to a GP to get an appointment and wait,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can come into a community pharmacist close to where you live, be seen, and receive your treatment, all within a matter of hours, if not minutes.\u201d<\/p>\n

The proposal would also allow pharmacists to directly provide treatment for uncomplicated urinary tract infections and the emergency contraceptive pill.<\/p>\n

Associate Health Minister David Seymour said people living in rural and remote areas, or in communities with higher health needs, were finding it difficult to get a timely GP appointment.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe proposed changes would enable direct provision of already funded medicines by pharmacists as part of provision of Health New Zealand-funded Extended Pharmacy Services, in accordance with their pharmacy agreement,\u201d Seymour said.<\/p>\n

Seymour, who holds ministerial responsibility for Pharmac, said the drug-buying agency would update its Pharmaceutical Schedule to support the changes.<\/p>\n

Earlier on Wednesday, it was reported that Green Cross Health, which owns Unichem and Life Pharmacy, was in talks with a potential buyer for its separate medical division.<\/p>\n

Asked whether they were concerned about potential job losses, Brown said it was a commercial decision for Green Cross, and the Government\u2019s announcement was about supporting community pharmacists up and down the country.<\/p>\n

Seymour said too many community pharmacists were closing down, and the proposal was a \u201cwin, win, win\u201d for pharmacists, patients, and the health system.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s a huge loss for communities up and down this country. This gives more opportunity for pharmacists to use their skills, and in return, draw more people in and attract more revenue, while taking pressure off the GPs and emergency departments.\u201d<\/p>\n

Decision welcomed by PSNZ<\/p>\n

Pharmaceutical Society of New Zealand <\/a>(PSNZ) president Michael Hammond said it was great to see the Government funding extended services nationwide.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe know too many people are waiting too long to see a GP, New Zealanders will soon be able to access funded care for a number of health conditions direct from the pharmacy. This is particularly important in rural and high needs areas across the country.<\/p>\n

\u201cPharmacists are highly skilled health professionals and community pharmacies offer timely access to care for New Zealanders. This proposal is good news for the sector.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want pharmacy to be funded appropriately for the services it delivers to patients, with a move towards funding for more clinical services. Today\u2019s announcement is a positive step in that direction.\u201d<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, a Northland pharmacist said it could be a lifeline for community pharmacies.<\/p>\n

Mangawhai Pharmacy\u2019s Lanny Wong told Checkpoint the scheme could help small pharmacies compete against big-box chemists.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor community pharmacies that are already doing this type of work, this is absolutely good news and if they fund our consultation time … this is a big win for us.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo that means we\u2019re actually finally getting paid for our expertise and our time we spend talking to our patients.\u201d<\/p>\n

Wong said the proposal would improve access to treatment by making it more affordable.<\/p>\n

However, she said the scheme would be ineffective without a workforce to deliver it.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe all support the initiative but we do need proper support and proper governance in pharmacy services, training and infrastructure, otherwise … this risks being a service that can be delivered in the big cities and is unreachable by rural and regional communities.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cIt will make it easier for children and families to get timely care for simple conditions, particularly when…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":381671,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[696,84430,2082,42,43,14373,205,40,38,41,39],"class_list":{"0":"post-381670","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-headlines","8":"tag-announced","9":"tag-expanded","10":"tag-for","11":"tag-headlines","12":"tag-news","13":"tag-pharmacists","14":"tag-role","15":"tag-top-news","16":"tag-top-stories","17":"tag-topnews","18":"tag-topstories"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/381670","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=381670"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/381670\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/381671"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=381670"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=381670"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=381670"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}