Treatment of UTIs – information for pharmacists

Trained ​pharmacists in NSW with suitable facilities and training can provide select antibiotics to people with uncomplicated urinary tract infections (UTIs).

​On this page

1. Who is eligible for treatment?
2. Pharmacist requirements
3. Cost of service
4. Creating and maintaining your service listing on healthdirect
5. NSW Pharmacy trial outcomes
6. More information

Who is eligible for treatment?

Specific eligibility criteria are in place to ensure patients receive safe and appropriate care.

For treatment of UTIs, patients must be:

• female,
• aged between 18 to 65 years (inclusive), and
• displaying symptoms consistent with an uncomplicated UTI, such as burning or stinging pain when you urinate, and frequent need to urinate.

If a patient does not meet the eligibility criteria to receive the service by a pharmacist, you must refer them to appropriate alternative care, such as their usual GP.

Pharmacist requirements

To provide this service, pharmacists and pharmacies must meet the requirements of and operate in accordance with:

• The Authority allowing participating pharmacists to supply medications (UTI), and
• The NSW pharmacist practice standards for use of antibiotics to treat UTI.

It is important that you read through these documents thoroughly to ensure compliance.

Key requirements for pharmacists and pharmacies include:

• Sharing a record of supply with the patient’s usual treating medical practitioner or medical practice, where the patient has one, following consent by the patient. This must be shared within a week following the consultation.
• Appropriate private areas available to conduct consultations
• Maintaining secure digital records of all consultations and their outcomes
• Maintaining up-to-date service listings via the National Health Services Directory
• Completing and maintaining mandatory training, being:
• The Australian College of Pharmacy's course -  Uncomplicated Cystitis Treatment – Pharmacist Training (New South Wales), OR
• The Pharmaceutical Society of Australia's module - Managing uncomplicated cystitis (Urinary Tract Infection)- NSW, Qld, SA, Tas & WA

Pharmacists carrying out UTI consultations must do so in accordance with the flow chart of criteria and actions provided in the NSW pharmacist practice standards for use of antibiotics to treat UTI.

Cost of service

Pharmacists can charge a consultation fee for patients seeking treatment for UTI. This is at the discretion of the pharmacy.

This consultation fee will be in addition to the cost of any medicines supplied.

Creating and maintaining your service listing on healthdirect

Pharmacies who provide the service are responsible for maintaining their own up-to-date service listings via the National Health Services Directory (NHSD).

First, check if your pharmacy has already been listed with the NHSD.

If you have an existing listing, you can update this by emailing amendments to the NHSD team. Please notify them in your email that you would like to include UTI treatment as a service offering.

If you do not have a listing, to register your pharmacy with the NHSD, complete the online registration form. When the NHSD team contacts you, please notify them that you would like to include UTI treatment as a service offering at your pharmacy.

NSW Pharmacy trial outcomes

The UTI treatment component of the NSW Pharmacy trial ran from 15 May 2023 to 31 May 2024. Over 17,000 consultations occurred during the trial period. 

NSW Health monitored the outcomes of treatment and care provided to people with UTIs during the clinical trial.  

Preliminary data from the clinical trial is showing evidence on safety outcomes for trained pharmacists, following a clinical protocol, to provide treatment for uncomplicated UTIs. An independent evaluation, utilising a more comprehensive dataset and analysis of UTI trial data, will be conducted. A final report for NSW Ministry of Health will be completed in 2025. This information will be used to inform future service delivery models. 

More information

Pharmacists should reach out to their member organisations in the first instance for further advice and support regarding UTI service provision.

For questions specifically relating to the research trial, please email the trial leads at NSWPharmacyTrial@newcastle.edu.au .

For general information, pharmacists should contact NSW Health at moh-pharmaceuticalservices@health.nsw.gov.au

Pharmacies may promote the service offering using their own developed materials in accordance with relevant guidelines. Refer to Advertising health services | Therapeutic Goods Administration.