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ISSUE 3 JUNE
Letters to the Editor

Prescribing issues for Aboriginal people

  • Jennifer Cramer

The Editorial Executive Committee welcomes letters, which should be less than 250 words. Before a decision to publish is made, letters which refer to a published article may be sent to the author for a response. Any letter may be sent to an expert for comment. When letters are published, they are usually accompanied in the same issue by their responses or comments. The Committee screens out discourteous, inaccurate or libellous statements. The letters are sub-edited before publication. Authors are required to declare any conflicts of interest. The Committee's decision on publication is final.

 

Letter to the editor

Editor, – I read with interest the paper 'Prescribing issues for Aboriginal people' (Aust Prescr 2003;26:106-9). My research into the practice of remote area nursing shows that there are serious problems in the acquisition and use of drugs in remote Aboriginal settings. I would like to draw your attention to the initiatives taken in Queensland. Unlike the standard treatment manual referred to in the article, a 'Primary Clinical Care Manual' (3rd ed. 2003) has been developed by the Queensland Nursing Council, Royal Flying Doctor Service and Queensland Health, based on statutory regulations, for use by nurses authorised in isolated practice. Under State legislative provisions of the Health (Drugs and Poisons) Regulation 1996, a process is in place for the formal endorsement of nurses in isolated practice areas and for indigenous health workers with specific protocols clarifying their separate responsibilities in relation to drugs and drug use.

Jennifer Cramer
Registered nurse
Perth

Jennifer Cramer

Registered nurse Perth