Frequently asked questions for health professionals about EACPP

There is a recognised need in WA to improve access to timely and patient centred care. This includes the expansion of health service access to support people to stay well in their community.

Health practitioners working to the top of their practice scope is a key workforce strategy for sustainable health care and can provide benefits such as better access to services, improved service delivery, increased workforce productivity, and enhanced patient experience.

The Unleashing the Potential of our Health Workforce – Scope of Practice Review, identified unnecessary barriers and restrictions preventing health professionals working to their full scope of practice and highlights the benefits in expansion of services provided by community pharmacists to strengthen the capability of the primary care workforce. 

This is further highlighted in the Sustainable Health Review which identified opportunities for the health system to implement contemporary workforce roles and scope of practice where there is a proven record of supporting better health outcomes and sustainability. The review singled out opportunities for community pharmacists to work collaboratively with other primary care practitioners to provide coordinated and integrated approaches to the use of medicines.

Queensland Health implemented the Queensland Community Pharmacy Scope of Practice Pilot in April 2024, which has guided the development of the EACPP. This initiative transitioned to standard care in July 2025.

The services delivered under EACPP will be strictly aligned with established clinical guidelines and protocols. Pharmacists will operate under an AHPRA defined Code of Conduct within a clearly defined scope, with robust referral pathways in place to ensure that more complex or uncertain cases are escalated to General Practitioners (GPs) or other medical practitioners for appropriate management. This model recognises and respects the expertise of GPs and is designed to complement, not replace, their critical role in holistic patient care. Importantly, the pilot aims to foster stronger collaboration between pharmacists and GPs, enhancing continuity of care and improving health outcomes for patients through a multidisciplinary approach.

Participating community pharmacists must complete an additional graduate certificate program that strengthens their clinical knowledge, diagnostic skills, and prescribing practices, aligned with the National Prescribing Service (NPS) Prescribing Competencies Framework. Courses will be delivered by universities, involving medical and non-medical prescribers, and be accredited by the Australian Pharmacy Council (APC) against their Accreditation Standards for Pharmacist Prescriber Education Programs.

The training will include:

• theory-based clinical education
• practical education
• work-integrated learning.

The Department of Health (the department) collaborated with local and interstate universities to develop training courses for participating pharmacists in WA. The following courses have been assessed and approved by the department. Admission requirements for each course are available on the respective university websites:

• Graduate Certificate of Advanced Practice and Prescribing for Pharmacists – James Cook University Australia (external site) delivered in collaboration with Curtin University
• Graduate Certificate in Quality Use of Medicines and Prescribing: The University of Western Australia (external site) subject to APC accreditation.

Other education providers that meet education requirements set by the department will be considered in the future.

The department has established an Education Assessment Panel to assess training courses. Interstate courses that are assessed by the Education Assessment Panel and approved by the department will be recognised in WA for the purpose of the pilot.

On 7 August 2025, the Minister for Health announced 17 conditions included for EACPP service delivery. Under the pilot, participating community pharmacists will be able to diagnose and provide treatment for:

• asthma
• smoking cessation
• herpes zoster (shingles)
• impetigo
• acute exacerbations of mild plaque psoriasis
• mild to moderate acne
• mild to moderate atopic dermatitis
• mild, acute musculoskeletal pain
• allergic and nonallergic rhinitis
• acute otitis externa
• acute otitis media
• acute nausea and vomiting
• acute minor wound management
• gastro-oesophageal reflux and gastro-oesophageal reflux disease
• hormonal contraception
• management for overweight and obesity
• oral health risk assessment and fluoride application.

Key stakeholders, including medical and pharmacy peak bodies, have been engaged at different levels of the project to guide the design and implementation of the pilot. This is to ensure that this new service model is safe, fit-for-purpose, and sustainable.

To promote national alignment in pharmacist-led care and pharmacist training, the graduate certificate programs offered in WA will train pharmacists to assess and manage a range of health conditions, aligning with the service delivery scope in other states and territories and their training programs.

The pilot will undergo continuous monitoring from implementation, with the department evaluating its safety, efficacy, and consumer benefits.

Key stakeholders will be consulted in the development of a Safety and Quality Framework and through pilot evaluation design. The department will also collaborate with other jurisdictions to share evaluation outcomes and ensure a nationally consistent approach.

A public feedback mechanism will be established for incident reporting and to evaluate consumer feedback on their experience with the pilot. This feedback will guide the review and ongoing quality improvement of the services provided.

Recent changes in WA have enabled community pharmacists to administer prescription vaccines, provide treatment for uncomplicated urinary tract infections, and resupply oral contraceptive pills. As registered health practitioners, pharmacists must follow professional practice standards and codes of ethics and conduct to guide safe and professional behaviour. 

The primary aim of the EACPP is to reduce barriers for patients to access primary care services. Within the pilot, it will be mandated that patients are informed they are not required to have any prescription(s) dispensed at the pharmacy providing the consultation. Patients are welcome to consider the treatment plan and take the prescription to another pharmacy of their preference.

If the patient chooses to have their prescription dispensed at the same pharmacy, it is recommended practice that another pharmacist or pharmacy technician dispense the prescription, provided it doesn’t impact the patient’s access to care. This ensures additional safety checks are undertaken.

Prescription data will be monitored throughout the pilot as part of the evaluation.

When the Queensland Community Pharmacy Pilot commenced in 2024, the supporting clinical guidelines and protocols underwent a comprehensive development and review process, engaging specialist stakeholders and utilising Delphi methods to guide decision making.

The EACPP is committed to the adoption of the Queensland Guidelines in WA to promote national consistency, ensuring consistent care for both pharmacists providing and patients accessing these services across different states and territories.

Pharmacists participating in the EACPP are required to practise within these guidelines and protocols which includes clear inclusion and exclusion criteria and criteria for referral and escalation to a GP or emergency care facility.

A Clinical Reference Group has been established to review feedback from WA subject matter experts and make recommendations for guideline implementation in a WA context, considering local populations, antimicrobial resistance patterns and resources for WA pharmacists and patients.

Pharmacists participating in the pilot will be required to use an approved clinical information system (CIS) to document the consultation and ensure a summary is generated for each service provision. The pilot emphasises a multidisciplinary approach to patient care, ensuring that consultations are clearly and securely communicated with the patient’s regular GP or medical centre, with the patient’s consent.

Most WA community pharmacies already utilise a CIS. These systems contain an integrated secure messaging service to ensure clear communication channels with other health practitioners and an effective referral system when appropriate for the condition being treated.

Work is currently underway to allow pharmacists to upload a consultation or event summary to a patient’s My Health Record, improving information sharing to other health providers. Dispensed medication is currently recorded in My Health Record.

The EACPP focuses on improving access to primary care services for Western Australians. The EACPP operates as a user-pay model, based on the length of consultation required. At this time, services delivered through the EACPP are not eligible for Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) subsidies.

Prescriptions issued by pharmacists under this program will be private prescriptions. They are not subsidised under the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) and do not contribute to the patient’s Safety Net threshold at this time.

Pharmacists must obtain informed financial consent from patients, ensuring they clearly understand any associated costs. Patients should also be advised that bulk-billing options are available for consultations through other health providers with no out-of-pocket expenses.

Private consultation rooms are already available in many pharmacies providing professional services. Under the pilot, it is mandatory that all consultations take place in rooms that meet both the pilot’s requirements and consumer expectations. This ensures patient privacy and supports confidential conversations and examinations.