Price disclosure “failing”
December 2, 2013
Australian consumers are
still paying way too much for PBS
medications, despite the latest
cuts due to price disclosure which
became effective yesterday,
according to a report released by
research group the Grattan Institute.
The report follows a Grattan study
published earlier this year (PD 18
Mar) with found that if the govt
benchmarked generic drug prices
against those in other countries it
could save over $1 billion annually.
“Our prices are high because we
buy drugs in the wrong way,” wrote
the report’s authors, who said that
on average Australian prices remain
almost 16 times higher than those
in New Zealand and the UK.
The report suggests one-off
benchmarking to get fair market
prices and then the establishment
of an independent drug pricing
body “to make sure prices stay low
in the future”.
However the report also
warns that “better prices would
significantly reduce income for
community pharmacies,” due to the
“windfall profits” currently being
made via generic discounts.
To address this, the report
suggests expanding the range
of services that pharmacists
can provide to give them new
income sources, as well as “direct,
transparent subsidies to community
pharmacies in locations where
viability may be an issue, or taking
steps to make the sector more
competitive and efficient.”
The Pharmacy Guild responded
to the report by saying that it has
consistently supported cheaper
medicines, “as long as it is ensured
that Australia’s 5,350 pharmacies
are properly remunerated.
“This is clearly not happening
under the current regime, with the
Guild estimating that up to 40% of
pharmacies will be unviable or only
marginally viable next financial year.
“While the Guild will continue to
support taxpayers getting value for
money from off-patent medicines,
this cannot be at the expense of
local small businesses jobs, and
services,” said the Guild.
The above article was sent to subscribers in Pharmacy Daily's issue from 02 Dec 13To see the full newsletter, see the embedded issue below or CLICK HERE to download Pharmacy Daily from 02 Dec 13
