Medals of Excellence

Sanofi-aventis Medal of Excellence in Pharmacy Practice
Merck Sharp & Dohme (Australia) Medal of Excellence in Pharmacy Practice
Pharmacy Practice Foundation Industry Medal of Excellence

Three Medals of Excellence are awarded each year at the Governors' Dinner.

These Medals are sponsored by sanofi-aventis, Merck Sharp & Dohme and the Pharmacy Practice Foundation. Nominees for each medal are confidentially submitted by members of the pharmacy community and winners are decided by subcommittees consisting of Council and PPF executive members, together with a representative from each of the three sponsoring bodies.

Each medal recognises excellence in difference aspects of pharmacy practice:

Sanofi-aventis Medal of Excellence in Pharmacy Practice

• This medal is awarded to a community or hospital pharmacist who is putting new professional ideas into their practice and who has made a major contribution to Pharmacy Practice. This will have resulted in practice changes that are innovative, differentiated and of demonstrable value to the consumer and the profession. It should be possible to articulate and assess the value of these ideas, albeit subjectively.

The 2007 recipient of the Sanofi-aventis Medal of Excellence in Pharmacy Practice

James A Delahunty

James Delahunty joined the family firm, guided by his father Jas Delahunty until 1990. The philosophy behind the group remains in the core values of quality service, professional advice, and providing value for money prices.

James was employed by his father in the T & G Day & Night Pharmacy, since entrepreneurial thinking has been a hallmark of his approach. The first of several ground-breaking moves came when James and his partners established the world’s first photographic mini-lab in a retail environment, back in 1979.
The company established Max Crofts Chemist in 1989 which became Delahunty’s City Day & Night Chemist in 1995. Since then there have been other enterprises including Post Offfice Square Pharmacy and MacArthur Central Chemist in Brisbane’s newest shopping centre, – the $100 million MacArthur Central and more recently Queens Plaza.

Delahunty’s Cost-Less Chemists in Brunswick Street opened in 1979 is now the well established ‘Chemist Australia’ – an online retail arm. In 2008 a new pharmacy and medical centre is being added to service the growing economy of the Valley.

The list of company activities over the decades is impressive and includes Reflections – 'World of Perfume Shops', Cost-Less Health Foods, the manufacture and packing of a diverse range of products including Gentlees Towelettes, Strychnine for Vermin and Delamac mapping systems.

Merck Sharp & Dohme (Australia) Medal of Excellence in Pharmacy Practice

• This medal is awarded to a pharmacist who has made a valuable, high-level contribution, while working within one of the official pharmacy organisations. It is likely that participation at this level will have been sustained over many years and that the individual will be recognised within the profession as being associated with particular practice changes and advancements.

The 2007 recipient of the Merck Sharp & Dohme (Australia) Medal of Excellence in Pharmacy Practice

William J Scott

Bill Scott was elected Victorian President of the PGA in 1996 and stepped down from that role in 2005. During this period, he held the important national positions of National Vice President and Chair of the Health Economics Committee (HEC). He led the Pharmacy Guild team that successfully negotiated the multi-billion dollar Third and Fourth Community Pharmacy Agreements with the Commonwealth Government.

Bill is joint proprietor of three Quality Care accredited community pharmacies in Melbourne and also a director of Sigma Pharmaceuticals Ltd. He has an intimate knowledge of the financial management implications of the issues currently facing pharmacy.

Bill is co-founder of Whittlesea and Lalor Community Health Centres and a member of the Board that built the Bundoora Extended Care Centre. He has been involved as a representative of community healthcare, aged care and migrant healthcare, and has been involved in local government as a member of the Whittlesea Council. He is currently Chair of Healthlinks, the company that delivers electronic CMI to pharmacy and medical profession on behalf of Australia’s pharmaceutical manufacturers.

Bill was recently appointed Chairman of PCA NU Systems Pty Ltd, a company that supplies dispensing software to community pharmacies throughout Australia.

Pharmacy Practice Foundation Industry Medal of Excellence

• This medal is awarded to an individual (who need not be a pharmacist) working for a manufacturer, wholesaler or distributor, or industry organisation, who has made an outstanding contribution in any of the following areas in the pharmaceutical industry:
•      pharmacy education
•      communication within the industry and profession
•      marketing to pharmacy
        (with significant public health education component, resulting in improved patient outcomes)
•      contribution to better pharmacy and government outcomes
•      any other appropriate activity that enhances excellence in pharmacy practice

The 2007 recipient of the Pharmacy Practice Foundation Medal of Excellence (Industry)

Bruce Annabel

Bruce Annabel has demonstrated a commitment to pharmacy that goes beyond the business management support services he and colleagues from Johnston Rorke Chartered Accountants deliver to more than 250 pharmacy clients. This breadth and depth of client exposure has enabled Bruce to gain an intimate understanding of pharmacy issues, especially those relating to pharmacy practice business management and the political concerns of the profession and its future.

Bruce has proven himself to be a fiercely independent observer of pharmacy business practice. His commitment and passion for improving business and retail management practice within Australian community pharmacy has been unswerving. He is a highly respected and sought-after speaker at industry conferences, seminars and workshops, and a regular columnist with the Australian Journal of Pharmacy.

He is a Fellow of the Australian College of Pharmacy Practice and Management and a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Chartered Accountants.