NEGOTIATIONS over the Seventh Community Pharmacy Agreement are continuing, a Pharmacy Guild of Australia spokesperson says, despite suggestions that minimal progress has been made on a number of issues since talks began last year.
With the clock running down to the end of the 6CPA on 30 Jun, Federal Health Minister, Greg Hunt, could refer issues around pharmacy remuneration to the Pharmaceutical Benefits Remuneration Tribunal (PBRT).
Pharmaceutical industry publication, BioPharmaDispatch, noted that under the National Health Act, Section 98BAA, the PBRT has the role of setting PBS remuneration for pharmacists, if the Department of Health and the pharmacy profession fail to reach an agreement.
Key issues which are believed to be stumbling-blocks for negotiators include the $1 discount on Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) prescriptions, which pharmacists can offer to patients, and 60-day dispensing, which pharmacy owners believe would threaten the viability of their businesses.
BioPharmaDispatch has also claimed Government spending on the 6CPA is set to come in significantly under budget, creating a debate over how much funding should be allocated to the 7CPA.
Speaking at the Guild's Parliamentary Dinner in Canberra in Sep, Hunt said he hoped a new remuneration model would be developed for the 7CPA to deliver certainty over how much would be spent over the course of the Agreement (PD 11 Sep 2019), saying it would be "remuneration you can bank on".
Hunt also pledged to deliver a simplified payment process for pharmacies.
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