Indigenous health focus
April 23, 2012
THE Health of Aboriginal and
Torres Strait Islander people is the
focus of a partnership between the
Pharmacy Guild of Australia and
The National Aboriginal
Community Controlled Health
Organisation (NACCHO).
As such, the duo, responsible for
the introduction and ongoing
support and delivery of the Section
100 Remote Aboriginal Health
Services Program (s100 RAHSP),
have developed a joint position
paper aimed at maintaining and
improving medicines for
Aboriginals and Torres Strait
Islanders.
Produced in response to the
Inquiry by the Senate Community
Affairs References Committee
which looked at ‘the effectiveness
of special arrangements for the
supply of Pharmaceutical Benefits
Scheme (PBS) medicines to remote
Aboriginal Health Services’, the
paper outlines essential features
that need to be maintained, as well
as eleven suggestions to improve
the system.
Improvements outlined in the
paper include a proposal that
Medicare Australia move to a
streamlined electronic claiming
system to replace the current
paper-based claims book.
“The Section 100 Remote
Aboriginal Health Services Program
(s100 RAHSP), introduced in 1999,
has greatly improved access to
medicines listed on the PBS and
represents one of the most
substantial positive developments
in remote area Aboriginal health
service delivery,” a statement from
the Guild said.
“This has been achieved through
the infrastructure of the network
of remote area community
pharmacies and their expertise in
administering the PBS, and Remote
Area Aboriginal Health Services in
their delivery of care to Aboriginal
and Torres Strait Islander peoples,”
the statement added.
To view the paper visit
www.guild.org.au.
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