COMMUNITY pharmacy remains uncertain about its future, with the results of the annual UTS Community Pharmacy Barometer indicating a lack of confidence as the health sector evolves.
Released this morning, the score for this year's Barometer was 85.9 out of 200, with a score of 100 representing "neutral" confidence.
Key issues of concern included the possible negative outcomes of the King Review of Pharmacy Remuneration and Regulation, with pharmacists reluctant to pursue new directions.
Professor Shalom Benrimoj, head of the UTS Graduate School of Health, said the results weren't surprising, with the Review complemented by the continuing impact of PBS price reforms.
"Community pharmacy is still unsure about its future prospects.
"Although the 6th Community Pharmacy Agreement provided a temporary rise in confidence, we are back to 2012 levels," he said.
Interestingly, almost two thirds of community pharmacists polled said they had started delivering professional services, with the 6th CPA providing a "great professional and financial foundation for their development," Benrimoj said.
He highlighted other interesting results including that 40% of pharmacy owners believed the value of their pharmacies would remain flat over the next year.
However one in eight were expecting a "significant increase" in the value of their businesses - the highest level of confidence in this area in the Barometer's history.
The report also indicated positive relationships between pharmacists and their local GPs, in contrast to media rhetoric about tensions between the Pharmacy Guild and the Australian Medical Association.
"The public hype about bad professional relationships between pharmacists and GPs is posturing by political leaders," Benrimoj said.
Negative economic pressure on community pharmacy and failure to seek new opportunities may also be putting downward pressure on wages, the report found.
"While lower wages may alleviate immediate financial problems for owners, there is the very real worry that the profession will struggle to attract high calibre candidates into pharmacy's ranks," the report said.
The Barometer is a joint initiative of the UTS Graduate School of Health and Bankwest.
The full report can be viewed online at www.uts.edu.au.
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