The PSR has attacked the North Queensland pharmacy prescribing trial, warning it is not clear how regulators will be able to access pharmacists’ medical records to ensure appropriate prescribing of S4 medications.

The trial will cover a population of 630,000 people, with pharmacists writing scripts for around 130 different S4 drugs — including budesonide–formoterol for asthma, doxycycline for acne and amoxicillin for acute otitis media — according to a draft consultation document.