"Wandering into a pharmacy and being issued a certificate without history or examination is very concerning," says Julian Rait, president of the Australian Medical Association. "They are very well trained in medication management, but they are not well trained in medical management."

But Anthony Tassone, president of the Pharmacy Guild of Australia's Victorian branch, said that doctors' "perceived fears of fragmentation of care do not excuse delays in care or potential lack of access to care."

"The AMA continually raised 'concerns' whenever another autonomous health profession seeks to practice their full scope," Tassone said.

The Fair Work Act 2009 permits pharmacists to hand out absence-from-work certificates as a legitimate documentation for sick workers, Tassone noted.

Read the full article from The Australian Journal of Pharmacy.