About Australian Pharmacist

Australian Pharmacist

Overview

Australian Pharmacist is the peer-reviewed journal of the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia (PSA), the national peak body for pharmacists, and one of the longest-standing professional publications in Australian pharmacy. Published in print on a monthly cycle and supported by a continuously updated website at australianpharmacist.com.au, it combines professional news with clinical education: its pages carry news columns, professional updates, advice, research summaries and education articles, and many of its clinical features double as continuing professional development (CPD) material for practising pharmacists. The PSA describes the title as Australia's peer-reviewed, award-winning journal for pharmacists — the society's own characterisation of its flagship publication.

The journal is a membership publication at its core: it is distributed to PSA members as part of their membership, with PSA's membership materials promising ten printed editions a year plus online access to the full library, a weekly e-newsletter, and access to CPD articles across a wide range of topics. Its website, however, is open and active as a news service in its own right, publishing new clinical, industry and people stories most days; in October 2026 its front page carried articles dated 14 October 2026 on topics from paediatric chronic pain to statin–macrolide interactions.

History

The journal is an institution of the PSA, which was formed in 1977 as a federation of the state pharmaceutical societies, several of which dated back to before Australian Federation. As the society consolidated into a unified national body, its journal became the profession's national record — carrying practice standards debates, professional politics, clinical guidance and education for a workforce spread across community, hospital, industry and academic pharmacy. For most of its life Australian Pharmacist was a print-first title, posted to members and supplemented by printed CPD products such as Essential CPE, an in-depth printed CPD module with a quiz, delivered with the journal twice a year and worth up to ten CPD credits.

The significant change of the digital era came in 2017, when the journal began digital publication alongside print, a shift documented in reference accounts of the society. The journal also functions as one of the society's formal channels to its members: the PSA's own membership documentation lists the distribution of annual reports, event notices and member publications among its core activities, naming the Australian Pharmacist journal among the newsletters it distributes. Print did not disappear: PSA membership packages in 2026 still include ten printed editions a year of the journal, an unusual commitment to paper among professional associations, while the website has taken over the daily rhythm of news. The society has continued to build partnerships around the journal's educational role; in August 2026 the PSA announced a partnership with Australian Prescriber, the independent peer-reviewed therapeutics journal, under which pharmacists can earn CPD points for selected articles, with accredited pieces badged on publication.

Content and Coverage

The website organises content under Clinical, CPD, Events, Industry, Innovation, Opinion, People and Practice. Clinical articles are practical and evidence-focused, written or reviewed by pharmacists: recent examples include guidance on supporting children living with chronic pain, an analysis of when statins and macrolides are genuinely a dangerous mix, research reporting on cannabis-related hospital admissions and psychosis, and explainers on polypharmacy drawn from Australian Institute of Health and Welfare data. People stories profile individual pharmacists and their work — such as a pharmacist expanding cardiology services in rural Victoria — while Industry coverage tracks PSA advocacy, policy announcements, awards and conferences.

A defining feature is the journal's integration with the PSA's CPD ecosystem. Articles are written to be usable as learning activities, the journal's archive feeds the society's online CPD library, and the printed Essential CPE modules arrive with the journal twice a year. Explainer journalism is a staple: the site has carried pieces unpacking why a Therapeutic Goods Administration interim decision to reschedule the cough medicine Rikodeine had not yet taken effect a year later, and reporting on a landmark Australian study of oxycodone prescribing patterns. Opinion pieces and practice articles address the profession's expanding scope — pharmacist prescribing, vaccination services, aged care and medication reviews — and the journal also carries the society's professional notices, reporting on its own research such as the PSA's Pharmacists in 2023 roadmap report, ethics guidance and award announcements, including the PSA Excellence Awards presented at its annual conference.

Audience and Reach

The readership is the Australian pharmacist workforce. The PSA presents itself as the peak body for Australia's 42,000-plus pharmacists across all practice settings, and the journal's guaranteed audience is the society's membership, which receives the print edition and the weekly e-newsletter; commonly cited figures put PSA membership at around 18,000, though the society does not publish an audited circulation for the journal and no independently verified readership figure exists. Articles are written at a professional level, assuming registration-level clinical knowledge, and bylines carry postnominals such as MPS (Member of the Pharmaceutical Society) that signal the insider audience. The open website extends that reach to non-member pharmacists, students — PSA student membership is free and includes the journal's newsletter and online CPD articles — and other health professionals who find its clinical explainers through search.

Digital Presence

The journal's website is a full publishing operation rather than a brochure for the print edition: it holds an archive of thousands of articles paginated into the hundreds — the main article stream runs to some 345 pages — author pages for its contributors, category archives spanning advertorial and sponsored content as well as editorial sections, a "popular" ranking that mixes current clinical explainers with durable reference pieces (a 2018 history of the phenacetin analgesic Bex, and the slang expression it inspired, still ranks among its most-read articles), and a newsletter sign-up inviting readers to receive a weekly dose of news and research. Digital publication of the journal itself dates from 2017, and PSA members receive online access to the full library as part of membership. The title's contact points are integrated with the society's: a national 1300 number and the journal's own email address at the psa.org.au domain.

Ownership and Organisation

Australian Pharmacist is owned and published by the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia Ltd, the government-recognised national peak body for pharmacists, governed by a national board and president — Professor Mark Naunton was named as PSA National President in the society's August 2026 announcements — and operated through its national office in Canberra, in the Australian Capital Territory, with state and territory branches supporting members locally. The journal sits inside the society's broader publishing and education program, which includes the Australian Pharmaceutical Formulary, the profession's standard reference text compiled by the PSA, professional practice standards and guidance resources, and one of the largest CPD catalogues in Australian pharmacy. Editorial content is produced by the society's publishing team and commissioned from practising pharmacists, academics and researchers, with peer review applied to its clinical and research content as the society describes it.

Contact and Availability

Australian Pharmacist is published by the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia, Canberra, and the journal can be contacted on 1300 369 772 or at australianpharmacist@psa.org.au, as listed on its website. Print editions are distributed to PSA members — membership information, including the journal subscription, weekly e-newsletter and CPD access bundled with it, is available through psa.org.au — and the full archive of articles is readable at australianpharmacist.com.au, where new stories are published throughout each week.