Making pharmacists the first point of call for the treatment of minor ailments is "ill-advised" and could put patients at a greater risk, according to Australia's peak doctors' body.
The view of the Australian Medical Association (AMA) comes after a budget submission from the Australian Self-Medication Industry, released yesterday, called on the Federal Government to develop an awareness campaign to persuade patients with minor ailments such as upper respiratory tract infections and back pain to see the pharmacist as their first point of call.
Hitting back at the proposal, AMA vice president Dr Steve Hambleton said respiratory tract infections and back pain could lead to more serious conditions and required "proper diagnosis".
"Doctors are skilled in diagnosis, pharmacists aren't," Dr Hambleton said.
"Making pharmacists the first point of contact for ailments, whether considered minor or not, is ill-advised."
Pharmacy Guild national president Kos Sclavos, however, said claims that pharmacists were not trained in diagnosing minor ailments were "incorrect".
"They do diagnose minor ailments, they treat minor ailments, they know how to ask the relevant questions," Mr Sclavos told Pharmacy News.
Instead of pharmacists, Dr Hambleton said the AMA wanted more Medicare support for nurses to treat minor ailments on behalf of doctors within a general practice.
Mr Sclavos said patients were self diagnosing their ailments and wanted more emphasis to be placed on boosting health literacy to enable patients to ask the right questions.
"To suggest that out first triage for everyone should be the doctor is just going to cripple the system," he said.
"With thousands of people calling triple 0 with minor ailments, the AMA's arguments that everyone should go to their doctor with minor ailments just falls over.
"Unfortunately, the reality which the AMA forgets is that patients are diagnosing themselves."