[e-drug] Independent or integrated Drug Regulatory Authority? (7)

[bev@burnet.edu.au]

E-DRUG: Independent or integrated Drug Regulatory Authority? (7)
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Dear all

Australian situation:

Australia has a federal system.  Pharmacy is regulated at a State level.  In my State - Victoria - the Pharmacy Board of Victoria is the Regulatory Authority.  It is empowered under the Act to Regulate all aspects of the Pharmacy profession.   It regulates standards of admission to the profession, controls registration and all professional behaviour of pharmacy professionals, standards for premises and all aspects of working in the pharmacy profession.  It has inspectors and the power to impose penalties for misconducts.  It can act like a sort of court and people accused of breaches of professional conduct are brought before the Pharmacy Board for 'trial' and the imposition of penalties as needed.  Penalties range from warnings, imposition of conditions of practice, to suspensions and de-registration. 

The Pharmacy Board has (10?) elected members from the pharmacy profession as well as the necessary administrative personnel. 

So it is a legal body as well as being an independent representative body of the Victorian pharmacy profession.

If anyone is interested I can send a more detailed description of the role of such a Board thaqt has been prepared for students. 

regards

Beverley Snell
Centre for International Health
Macfarlane Burnet Institute for Medical Research and Public Health
P O Box 2284 Melbourne 8001, Australia
Telephone 61 3 9282 2115
Fax 61 3 9282 2144
email <bev@burnet.edu.au>
Site address:  85 Commercial Road, Melbourne, 3004