LESS than two weeks out from the implementation of changes to the Closing the Gap (CtG) Co-payment Relief program, pharmacists are warning it could create fresh problems to patients seeking to access prescription medicines.
Under the updated program, existing CtG patients will have their details transferred to the centralised database managed by Services Australia from 01 Jul, while new patients will have to be added by a registered Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) prescriber or a Medicare-registered Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health practitioner, to access the Federal Government funded program.
The new database will allow hospital PBS prescriptions to be dispensed under the CtG program through community and private hospital pharmacies.
However, a number of pharmacists haved raised concerns that patients could see their access to medicines limited under the new approach to the program, if their prescriber "hasn't done the paperwork" to register them.
Commenting on a Pharmacy Guild of Australia alert about the changes to the CtG program, one pharmacist said, "this is going to create a whole world of nightmares, let alone the effect on healthcare or further marginalising certain people".
Captial Chemist Group Business Manager, Andrew Topp, told Pharmacy Daily that the initial registration process may not be active in prescriber software programs when the change comes into affect next month.
He said that while the change would theoretically "widen the prescription pool" getting patients registered could prove challenging, leaving some eligible patients without access to PBS medicines.
Topp added that the key to the success of the CtG Co-payment Relief program was delivering an increased uptake of prescriptions by creating savings for eligible patients who might not otherwise have the means to access critical medications.
He warned that if patients were unable to access the program due to their prescriber failing to register them appropriately, it could also impact their relationship with the pharmacy.
"This is being implemented in 14 days time, and this [Guild alert] is the first document I've seen," Topp said.
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