Pharmacy Daily | NPSA warns on direct model

The National Pharmaceutical Services Association (NPSA) has warned that reliable access to vital medicines will be threatened if others in the industry move to an exclusive direct distribution model. A report published earlier this week by consulting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PD Tue) revealed that 31% of suppliers are considering a “Pfizer Direct”- style model which bypasses full line wholesalers by going direct to pharmacy. NPSA president Patrick Davies from Symbion said that further moves in this direction will erode the viability of the Community Service Obligation which funds wholesalers to deliver PBS medicines to pharmacies nationally. He urged legislative action to protect the CSO, the National Medicines Policy and the “principle of equality of access that underpins Australia’s healthcare system. “Pharmacies need more than one source of supply and they need to be able to access all PBS medicines from their full line CSO wholesaler - otherwise patient care is compromised,” Davies said. The PwC report, which is the outcome of an industry survey, said that 69% of respondents don’t see the value in the direct model and don’t have distribution expertise. However “some are open to explore this model to see if they can receive more value from it in relation to existing or specific products,” the report adds. However Davies warned that specialist pharmaceutical wholesaling in Australia depends on economies of scale that will be lost if large pharma companies pull out of the supply chain. “Our healthcare system is the envy of much of the world and we must act to defend it by ensuring the exclusive supply of PBS medicines is prevented, as part of negotiations around the Sixth Community Pharmacy Agreement,” he urged. NPSA members currently include Sigma, Symbion, National Pharmacies and Central Healthcare Services, but not API.

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