The six finalists in the 2023 Pharmacy of the Year awards have been announced by the Pharmacy Guild of Australia.
The finalists are:
- Capital Chemist Calwell, ACT
- Livelife Pharmacy Cooroy, Queensland
- Thursday Island Pharmacy, Queensland
- Wholelife Pharmacy & Healthfoods Pease Street, Queensland
- Ouyen Pharmacy, Victoria
- Pharmacy 777 Shoalwater, Western Australia
The prestigious award is open to Pharmacy Guild members who can enter in the three categories:
- Excellence in Business Management
- Excellence in Community Engagement
- Excellence in Professional Innovation
Category winners, along with the overall Guild Pharmacy of the Year winner, will be announced at the 2023 APP Conference to be held on 23-26 March 2023 at the Gold Coast Convention Centre.
The Australia-wide awards process aims to find the country's foremost community pharmacy which is recognised and celebrated for its achievements, its innovation and its commitment to patients and communities.
Spokesperson for the judging group and Senior National Vice-President of the Guild, Nick Panayiaris, said the nominations this year had set a new benchmark for the judges in terms of the quality of community pharmacies and their performance.
"The nominations have been absolutely exceptional," he said.
"These awards have been presented for more than 20 years but the judges all agree this year has been outstanding."
Mr Panayiaris said what was even more remarkable was how many practices had invested in automation and other technology which has enabled the changes necessary to grow their businesses and implement patient centric services, all in the face of the huge impact COVID-19 had on the community pharmacy sector.
"It was really encouraging to see how pharmacies had responded to the changed environment of COVID and adapted to meet the different patient demands and expectations," he said.
"They innovated, they pivoted, and they came up with solutions to previously unencountered clinical and business challenges."
Jonathan Biddle, General Manager of Care Pharmaceuticals, and principal sponsors of the awards, said the award acknowledged the most innovative and adaptable pharmacy businesses in the country.
"They have worked under the most challenging situations to meet the needs of their patients and their community by providing comprehensive, holistic health services, medication safety and advice, through well-managed pharmacies.
"This year we had hundreds of nominations for the award.
"We are proud at Care Pharmaceuticals to sponsor this important recognition of outstanding pharmacies, and our sponsorship reflects our ongoing commitment to patients and pharmacies in the sector."
