Advocacy and impact

Advanced Pharmacy Australia (AdPha) - formerly known as SHPA - plays a valuable role advocating for a profession which continues to expand its scope to support the increasing demands placed on our health system, in hospitals, transitions of care, aged care and general practice clinics.

Managing medicines remains a substantial challenge for contemporary society. Even as community expectations of health and medical treatments grow, the mismanagement of medicine contributes to life-shortening outcomes for vulnerable populations, demonstrated by the 230,000 medication-related hospital admissions each year.

With almost half of Australians experiencing a chronic health condition often requiring regular medicine use, a consensus is growing around the benefit of greater access for patients to professional pharmacy services and a recognition of the valuable role played by pharmacists as key members of the multi-disciplinary healthcare team.

AdPha is advocating to ensure pharmacists in hospitals and other healthcare settings are appropriately utilised in this dynamic new healthcare landscape.

To achieve this objective, AdPha actively seeks to increase understanding by governments and the wider community of the range, complexity and value of the work of members. AdPha also provides expert clinical advice to health and medical stakeholders on pharmacy matters and keeps members informed of the advocacy and representation undertaken on their behalf. Health policy and clinical services submissions made by AdPha are available on this website.

These activities are reported regularly to members via this website and our weekly eNews. In addition, AdPha makes regular media statements to openly report on the progress of key programs and initiatives, to promote concepts and initiatives that support the profession and to counter misinformation and proposals that may have a negative impact on the organisation and the wellbeing of its members. Join the AdPha media release mailing list. 

For more information about AdPha advocacy, pharmacy policy or stakeholder engagement contact Jerry Yik, Head of Policy and Advocacy.

Advocacy publications

Open for member consultation