There is no escaping that the gathering of the country’s various health ministers last Friday carried a historical significance when it comes to health reform.

It was during the meeting that they made a collective decision to radically expand nurse prescribing next year across both S4 and S8 medications. It seems there was no consultation with doctors beforehand.

Prescribing has been pushed for some time by the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia as it has by the nursing unions.

But even though the board’s vision has is now official policy, too many questions remain unanswered to form a judgement as to its flaws or virtues.