With the view to help ease cost-of-living pressures, the Australian Government has announced a new 60-day dispensing policy, which will allow the purchase of two months’ worth of medicine for the price of a single prescription.
The 60-day dispensing policy, which will commence from 1 September, targets stable, ongoing conditions and will bring Australia into line with New Zealand, the UK, France and Canada, where patients already have access to multiple-month medications on a single prescription.
It’s said the new 60-day dispensing policy will result in a cost saving of up to $180 annually per medicine for general patients – concession card holders will save up to $43.80 a year per medicine.
According to a statement released by the Government, the 60-day dispensing policy will provide doctors with the option to prescribe a two-month supply of more than 320 medicines on the PBS, including medicines for conditions such as heart disease, cholesterol, Chron’s disease and hypertension.
The Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee (PBAC) reports it has considered the safety profile of the medicines that it has recommended to be included in the new policy, and that doctors will make a clinical decision about whether 30-day or 60-day prescribing is appropriate for the individual circumstances of the patients they treat.
“Every year, nearly a million Australians are forced to delay or go without a medicine that their doctor has told them is necessary for their health,” the Minister for Health and Aged Care Mark Butler MP said.
“This cheaper medicines policy is safe, good for Australians’ hip pockets and most importantly good for their health.”
Growing concern among pharmacists
While the Government has assured in their statement that this new dispensing policy won’t change the overall demand for medicines, and medicine availability or add to medicine shortages, there is growing concern among pharmacists.
A statement released by the Pharmacy Guild of Australia says that according to the World Pharmacy Council economist, the 60-day dispensing policy will cut $3.5 billion in patient care to communities across Australia over the next four years.
National President of the Pharmacy Guild of Australia Trent Twomey says there’s no guarantee that patients will receive the medicine they need or that pharmacies wouldn’t close as a result of this new policy, and this, he says, is worrying.
“This is a $3.5 billion cut to patient care across every single community in Australia and that should worry patients,” Professor Twomey said.
“This cut to patient care will mean aged care services are reduced and elderly patients may go without medicine.
“This cut will mean parents wanting access to late-night medicines for their kids will miss out because pharmacies will be forced to scale back their opening hours.
“This cut will put more pressure on emergency departments because people will need to go somewhere when their pharmacy is closed.
“I want the Federal Government to guarantee millions of Australians won’t go without the medicines to treat high cholesterol, diabetes, depression, and anxiety, because of shortages that this policy will deliver.
“Double of nothing is still nothing,” he said.
Investing back into community pharmacy
However, the Government says it will be reinvesting every dollar saved as a result of this policy straight back into community pharmacies to secure the ongoing strength of the sector and ensure pharmacists play an even larger role in the healthcare of Australians.
The Government says it will also be investing $350 million in community pharmacy outreach into aged care facilities to ensure older Australians are managing their medications.
“Australian pharmacies already do much more than just dispense medicine and the Government is supporting our trusted pharmacists to play an even bigger role in the healthcare of Australians,” Minister Butler said.
Professor Twomey welcomes the Health Minister’s commitment to reinvest the money cut back into community pharmacies.
“We will be holding the Minister to his word that every cent is invested back into dispending medicine in community pharmacies and supporting our patients,” he said.
