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Professor John Upham
A leading respiratory physician has criticised a bid to allow OTC pharmacy sales of budesonide, warning it could fragment care and lead to misdiagnosis.
The medicines watchdog has not revealed which organisation is behind the application to the TGA to down-schedule the inhaled corticosteroid, which is currently before the regulator’s advisory committee on medicines scheduling.
Published in late April, the application says the drug carries low risk of misuse and is “substantially safe with pharmacist intervention” to monitor its use.
“In regional, rural and remote areas that are underserviced by other healthcare professionals, pharmacists are highly trained healthcare professionals that could provide a greater contribution to the management of asthma for all patients,” it says.
But respiratory physician Professor John Upham says there are grave concerns, given pharmacists’ lack of training in asthma diagnosis and management.
“There are a number of concerns about the problems of pharmacists giving out the medication to patients who don’t necessarily need it and without really understanding the diagnosis,” he told the limbic.
“When a patient comes in, the pharmacist needs to be asking questions like whether their asthma has been confirmed by a doctor and how it is being managed.
Professor of Respiratory Medicine at the Princess Alexandra Hospital in Brisbane, he added: “You can imagine in a high throughput chain pharmacy, where it is all about high volume and keeping costs down that some of those critical questions won’t be asked.”
“They are just going to sell the person the inhaler.”