Pharmacy Daily | Medicare & PBS pillars

PHARMACY Guild of Australia Executive Director David Quilty has reinforced to members, the public and political figures the central and complementary roles of the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) and Medicare in Australia's internationally envied universal health system.

Writing in his Forefront editorial, Quilty outlined some of the history of the schemes and said the "PBS is a fundamental part of Australia's National Medicines Policy and its effective delivery to the Australian population is underpinned by the nation's 5,700 highly accessible and professional community pharmacies".

"The PBS ensures that all Australians, regardless of where they live or their financial circumstances, have timely, reliable and affordable access to necessary and lifesaving prescription medicines."

The PBS has evolved over its 70 years to meet the changing needs of the Australian population and remains an absolute foundation of the country's healthcare system.

Quilty also highlighted the universal political support the two schemes enjoy and said that in the lead-up to the Federal Election the Guild would play its role as it always does by encouraging the nation's political leaders "to maintain and where they can look to strengthen their commitments to the PBS, which is recognised globally as a world leading subsidised medicines system".