The minister Alex Hawke has announced to add pharmacists to the Priority Migration Skilled Occupation List (PMSOL). The following three occupations have been added to the PMSOL:
Hospital Pharmacist (251511),
Industrial Pharmacist (251512)
Retail Pharmacist (251513)
This change is in order to support COVID-19 vaccine rollout in Australia due to increment of supply of COVID-19 vaccine doses over the coming week.
This would result in priority visa processing for pharmacists across the hospital, retail, and industrial sectors.
The three additional occupations bring the PMSOL to 44 in total.
Why pharmacy's importance is growing?
A pharmacist’s perception among people is that of a person who stands behind the counter
Pharmacists work with other health care professionals to maximize health outcomes. Numerous studies have proven that the presence of a pharmacist on hospital rounds as a full member of the patient care team has been shown to prevent medication errors and reduce costs. Pharmacists provide optimal management of medication for chronic diseases such as diabetes, asthma, hypertension, etc. The collaboration of healthcare professionals, such as physicians and pharmacists, can help to ensure that patients properly take their medications as prescribed and avoid any harmful effects.