TerryWhite Chemmart has launched a national women’s health focus across its community pharmacy network, citing rising demand and barriers to care faced by Australian women.
The move comes as 61 per cent of Australian women live with at least one long-term health condition, according to the ABS Patient Experience Survey 2023–24. The survey also found women are more likely than men to delay or avoid using health services when needed.
The pharmacy group said the new focus is aimed at improving access to expert-led care close to home. It follows a federal commitment of $573 million to improve access, affordability and frontline delivery of women’s health services.
Australians visit their local pharmacy an average of 18 times a year, making community pharmacy one of the most accessible healthcare settings in the country. TerryWhite Chemmart said it would build on that contact point to provide structured women’s health services in private consultation settings.
Services available through participating pharmacies include contraception supply and resupply, UTI assessment and treatment, menopause and midlife health support, maternal vaccinations including influenza, RSV and whooping cough, HPV vaccinations, telehealth referrals and preventative health screenings.
TerryWhite Chemmart Pharmacist Prescriber Tahnee Simpson, who has a special interest in women’s health, said the model was designed to reduce practical barriers that often delay treatment.
“For too many women, healthcare is delayed because of cost, wait times, access issues or simply not knowing where to go,” Ms Simpson said.
“Women can now walk into their local pharmacy and access professional, private, evidence-based care across multiple stages of their life, delivered by highly trained healthcare professionals they already trust…The initiative is supported by partnerships with GenM, WellFemme and Ovarian Cancer Australia. Through the WellFemme telehealth partnership, women can access dedicated women’s health care with a focus on menopause”
“This changes that. Women can now walk into their local pharmacy and access professional, private, evidence-based care across multiple stages of their life, delivered by highly trained healthcare professionals they already trust.”
The initiative is supported by partnerships with GenM, WellFemme and Ovarian Cancer Australia. Through the WellFemme telehealth partnership, women can access dedicated women’s health care with a focus on menopause.
Ms Simpson said the approach recognised that women’s health needs change over time.
“Women’s health isn’t one conversation, and it isn’t one life stage,” she said.
“It’s about ongoing care, support and access, delivered in a way that fits real life. Community pharmacy makes that possible. TerryWhite Chemmart is creating an accessible, trusted destination where women can walk in, ask questions, and get the care they need, when they need it.”
TerryWhite Chemmart operates more than 620 community pharmacies across Australia and said the expanded focus would strengthen the role of pharmacists in frontline healthcare delivery, particularly in areas where GP access is constrained.
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