SHPA primary care push
August 29, 2013
THE Society of Hospital
Pharmacists says it believes
the time has come to “radically
restructure the manner in which
professional pharmacist services
are funded and how PBS medicines
are reimbursed”.
In particular the Society is urging
that pharmacist professional
services should be funded through
Medicare, “consistent with the
funding of services provided by
doctors, nurses and other allied
health professionals”.
In a statement issued yesterday,
SHPA said that while it doesn’t
support inflated medicines pricing
cross-subsidising professional
services, it’s also concerned
about the impact of “sudden,
unnegotiated changes to the overall
medicines and pharmacy services
funding system that threaten the
viability of community pharmacies
as small businesses”.
“There should be a clear
separation of the funding of
medicines and pharmacist
professional services, so that
there is transparency around how
taxpayers’ dollars are spent,” said
SHPA President, Sue Kirsa.
She outlined an SHPA vision
that the funding of medicines and
pharmacy services should both
support improved health outcomes
for patients.
“Services provided by pharmacists
should be available to all
consumers no matter where they
live or the location of the nearest
community pharmacy,” she added.
“As front-line health professionals
and medicines experts, all
pharmacists should focus on what
is valued about their role in health
and that, wherever they work, in
a community pharmacy or other
setting, they deliver quality health
services to consumers,” she added.
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