Codeine plans a costly fail
October 22, 2015
The government’s Interim
Decision to upschedule S2 and S3
products containing codeine to S4
is merely a “blunt instrument to
address misuse and abuse of these
medicines” according to Pharmacy
Guild of Australia national
president George Tambassis, in an
opposing response statement sent
to members.
With the large number of general
public using these products,
rescheduling will make pain relief
medicines more expensive and
difficult to access, may result in
additional cost burden for both the
Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS)
and the Pharmaceutical Benefits
Scheme (PBS) and where ready or
affordable medical practitioners
are not available, pain may go
untreated or lead to an increase in
hospital presentations, he said.
The positive alternative proposal
from the Guild is the urgent
implementation of a mandatory
real-time online recording of
codeine dispensing in all states
and territories with relevant
government support.
In addition, the Guild
recommended that the final
decision on codeine be deferred
for at least 12 months to allow
time for the real-time monitoring
system developed by the Guild in
partnership with the Australian
Self Medication Industry (ASMI) to
be implemented and its impact on
detecting abuse/misuse evaluated.
Mandatory warning labels,
consideration of pack size reduction
options, ongoing pharmacist
education and a consumer
awareness campaign were
recommended.
“Given the widespread
implications and cost of the
rescheduling proposal, it is
imperative that a formal Regulatory
Impact Statement (RIS) must
be conducted prior to any final
decision on rescheduling,” the
Guild statement added.
The Guild has said it is confident
that real-time online monitoring
system can be implemented by
June 2016, which is the current
implementation date for the
Interim Decision to take effect.
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