Pharmacy Daily | Butler confirms but offers to reinvest

TODAY, Federal Health Minister Mark Butler confirmed that the 60-days' dispensing measure will commence on 01 Sep, with savings for general patients up to $180 a year, and concession card holders up to $43.80 a year per medicine.

Butler said at least six million Australians will halve their medicine costs and need fewer visits to the GP and pharmacist to get the medicine they use the most, saving patients more than $1.6b over the next four years.

"While eligible Australians will be able to buy double the medicine on a single script, overall demand for medicines will remain unchanged.

"This reform won't affect medicine availability and it won't add to shortages," Butler asserted.

"This reform delivers important cost of living relief to Australians, and every dollar saved by the Government will be reinvested straight back into community pharmacies to secure the ongoing strength of the sector and ensure our trusted pharmacists play an even larger role in the healthcare of Aussies," he reassured pharmacists.

Further, the Govt is investing $350m in community pharmacy outreach into aged care facilities.

Butler also said the government would continue to push back against the medical lobby groups and support expanding pharmacists' scope of practice.

"Australian pharmacies already do much more than just dispense medicine and the government is supporting our trusted pharmacists to play an even bigger role in the healthcare of Australians," he said.

Once fully implemented, the 60-day prescribing policy will provide doctors with the option to prescribe a two-month supply of more than 320 medicines on the PBS to people with stable, ongoing conditions such as heart disease, cholesterol, Crohn's disease and hypertension.

The new policy will be staged with government departments monitoring its progress.

Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) President Dr Nicole Higgins told ABC today that pharmacists were being "alarmist" about the policy though "today's announcement is just the beginning".

"The RACGP also supports further investigation of the benefits to patients in changing the $1 discount rule.

"We also want an overhaul of Australia's anti-competitive pharmacy ownership and location laws, which inflate costs for patients, and appear focused on protecting pharmacy owners," Higgins concluded.