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It was the goal of the 3^rd CPA R&D Program to identify research priority areas in community pharmacy service provision and to then fund projects with the greatest potential to deliver services with positive health and economic impacts to consumers and the health system.

The Pharmacy Guild of Australia developed research priorities for the program through an extensive consultation process with stakeholders and communication with the Department of Health and Ageing. The priorities allowed the Guild and associated stakeholders to focus the funding to areas of most importance.  This has allowed a large number and impressive variety of high quality projects to be funding through the program.

As an example, the priority areas for 2003 included:

• Quality use of medicines
• Continuing care across the health system
• Evaluation and further development of existing community pharmacy services and programs
• Development of new cognitive services
• Harm reduction for drug dependent people
• Facilitating change processes within pharmacy practice and the health system to deliver higher quality and cost effective pharmacy professional services
• Pharmacy workforce.

It was recommended to those submitting funding proposals that in conjunction to addressing the identified priority areas, the proposal also highlight where there was greatest potential to improve health and cost effectiveness of community pharmacy services.