This Action Plan was developed as a way of addressing the need to provide sustainable, high-quality pharmacist services in a complex and evolving environment. It emphasises the importance of taking an integrated, coherent approach so that all are clear on the role they have to play in making its vision of the future into a reality.
There is general agreement that we face complex challenges that make it more difficult to use pharmacists’ skills more effectively. However, there is also confidence that we can work together to address these challenges, using the very real strengths of our system and the experience and skills that everyone brings to their roles.
The Pharmacy Action Plan is divided into four ‘focus areas’ and four ‘tools for change’, each of which contains a number of actions. Consultation feedback agreed that each action should have an organisation or group of stakeholders with lead accountability for it, while also understanding that all would need to play their part for each action to succeed.
Purpose
This Pharmacy Action Plan describes some key ways in which pharmacist services in a range of settings will contribute to the future direction of the New Zealand health system, as set out in the New Zealand Health Strategy (Minister of Health 2016a). It identifies a set of focus areas and specific actions to be taken over the next three to five years, at national, regional and local levels. These actions give a further level of detail beyond that provided in the New Zealand Health Strategy: Roadmap of Actions 2016 (Minister of Health 2016b), and should be read along with the Roadmap and its future updates.
The Action Plan focuses on developing pharmacist services within an integrated health and disability system that supports people to stay well throughout their lives. It outlines how pharmacists, other health practitioners, funders, key organisations and the Ministry of Health will work together to support transformation, innovation and new integrated models of care that will meet the challenges our health system is facing and improve health outcomes for all New Zealanders.