THE government should fund community pharmacies to become 'local health hubs' where there are shortages of GPs and other health professionals, according to the Pharmacy Guild of Australia.
That's one of a number of ambitious elements of the Guild's submission to the Review of Pharmacy Remuneration and Regulation which was publicly released last Fri.
The Guild is also seeking pharmacy funding for a fee-for-service minor ailments program using a "recordable pharmacist-only medicine schedule," as well as an Opiate Dependence Treatment program and the ability for community pharmacies to renew prescriptions and order a standard range of pathology tests.
"On the future of community pharmacy, the Guild submission makes clear that the predicted growth in the number of Australians living with complex, multiple morbidities means that the clinical health role of community pharmacy in maximising medicine adherence and the quality use of medicines will be increasingly important," the submission reads.
The Guild is urging that the Continued Dispensing arrangements for urgent PBS medicine supply should be expanded to include other medicines for chronic health conditions, and also suggested community pharmacies be funded to administer vaccines listed on the National Immunisation Program Schedule "on a level playing field with other health professionals".
The system of five-year community pharmacy agreements should be retained, the Guild said, and future CPAs "must reinvest a fair proportion of the savings from PBS reforms into ensuring that the core clinical role of dispensing remains viable," while the current $1 discount should be abolished.
The full Guild submission is online at guild.org.au/pharmacy-review.
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