Pharmacies will be allowed to do COVID-19 testing in a State Government trial geared to raise the number of testsin the community.
Health Minister Steven Miles said tests would be done throughout the state over the next few months.
“As part of this pilot program pharmacists will be provided with relevant training to conduct the testing. Collected specimens will be analysed by Queensland Health and managed according to existing Queensland Health procedures,” Mr Miles said.
“That means those tested will be advised to isolate in accordance with COVID-19 national guidelines and identified cases will be notified by the relevant Public Health Unit.”
The Health Minister said Queensland was working with Pharmacy Guild of Australia, Queensland and had looked at pilots done by some other states.
“Community pharmacies are often accessible, trusted places in communities across Queensland, including regional and remote areas,” Mr Miles said.
Logan Hospital’s carpark has been a hub, conducting thousands of tests in recent weeks.
“Until we have an approved vaccine for COVID-19, we will continue to rely on methods like testing to keep Queenslanders safe,” Mr Miles said.
“That’s why we’re launching a pilot program to trial testing for COVID-19 in pharmacies.
“Each year there are over 458 million patient visits to community pharmacies – approximately 8.8 million per week.”
Queensland was one of the first jurisdictions in the world to start testing for COVID-19. The state’s health system has rapid testing machines and serology testing to assist with contact tracing.
“Queensland Health will conduct a comprehensive review of the pilot program after the trial to determine if this is a feasible way to increase testing opportunities in community pharmacies,” Mr Miles said.
President Pharmacy Guild of Australia, Queensland Professor Trent Twomey said Queensland was leading the way on COVID-19 testing and this trial was another asset in keeping Queenslanders safe.
“Queenslanders are already presenting in Pharmacy with possible symptoms which are similar to COVID-19 symptoms and requesting cold and flu medications. It makes sense to opportunistically test those members of the community with possible symptoms,” Mr Twomey said.
“Community Pharmacy has a proud history of playing our part in the evolution of Queensland’s primary health care network.”
