New Guild 5CPA deal
February 13, 2014
The Pharmacy Guild of Australia
has struck a new deal with the
federal government intended
to ensure the sustainability
of Home Medicines Reviews
(HMRs), Residential Medication
Management Reviews (RMMRs)
and MedsCheck/Diabetes
MedsCheck services.
The changes to the agreement
take effect 01 Mar 2014 and remain
in place for the duration of the Fifth
Community Pharmacy Agreement
(5CPA) to the end of June 2015.
The changes will also enable
the phased implementation of
a hospital referral pathway to
proceed in 2014.
The changes are as follows:
1. The life of an HMR referral is
limited to three months to ensure
reviews are conducted in a more
timely way
2. Follow up HMR & RMMR
services are to be based on patient
need, not just as a routine matter
3. Introducing service caps for
HMRs (20 per month per service
provider) and MedsCheck/Diabetes
MedsCheck (10 total combined per
month per section 90 pharmacy)
4. Ongoing collaboration between
the Department and the Guild will
ensure HMRs are targeted to those
patients at greatest risk.
In addition the Guild assumes
responsibiity for the administration
of 5CPA Programs that currently
are managed by the Department of
Human Services.
The Department of Human
Services will continue to accept
claims up to this Friday (14 Feb) and
the new claiming system through
the Guild will be operational from
01 Mar 2014.
MEANWHILE the Pharmaceutical
Society of Australia (PSA) has
expressed its concern over the
capping of the services.
National President Grant Kardachi
said, “This cap on medication
review services is a profession-wide
issue and affects the livelihood
of pharmacists across all sectors
including accredited pharmacists
and pharmacy owners.”
Kardachi added that the PSA
would work with the Guild, the
Government and stakeholders
to try to find a viable solution as
quickly as possible.
With concerns around the
sustainability of the 5CPA, he
added, “we have to find a better
solution for this growing area of
practice which meets the needs of
our increasing ageing population,”
he said.
Australian Medical Association
president Dr Steve Hambleton
the early successes in closing the
gap were welcomed and the AMA
believed the Coalition of Australian
Government National Partnership
Agreement on Closing the Gap in
Indigenous Health Outcomes, with
leadership and funding from all
governments, could achieve many
more such successes, with the right
funding and commitment.
The above article was sent to subscribers in Pharmacy Daily's issue from 13 Feb 14To see the full newsletter, see the embedded issue below or CLICK HERE to download Pharmacy Daily from 13 Feb 14
