PSA lashes out on overspend
March 11, 2013
THE Pharmaceutical Society of
Australia has expressed concern
over suggestions that the current
Home Medicines Reviews (HMR)
budget overspend should be
addressed through cuts in
remuneration for HMRs and other
professional services.
The comments follow Health
Minister Tanya Plibersek’s
announcement last Friday, of a
range of measures to ensure that
the HMRs are delivered
appropriately to patients (PD
Breaking News 08 Mar).
Speaking about the whispered
HMR budget cuts, Acting President
of the PSA, Joe Demarte, said
“further investment, not less, should
be considered for professional
pharmacy services such as the
Home Medicines Review program
to ensure the ongoing viability of
their delivery”.
Demarte went further to say that
cutting HMR and professional
services funding to address the
HMR budget overspend would be a
very damaging approach, not only
for consumers, but for the health
system.
“We need to invest more into
professional services so that we can
continue to deliver these essential
HMRs and other programs which are
producing very positive health
outcomes for the community,” he said.
Demarte went on to say that
whilst the PSA was excluded from
the Fifth Community Pharmacy
Agreement negotiations, it said
from the outset when the budget
was revealed that the funds
allocated for HMRs are inadequate.
“But suggestions now that the way
to address the overspend is to
disincentivise delivery of the HMR and
other professional service programs
is naive and would only add to
long-term health costs,” he said.
“Professional programs such as
HMRs have been shown to greatly
reduce health costs through
interventions which reduce
hospitalisations and long-term
treatment costs,” he added.
Demarte went further to say that
the current HMR funding crisis
highlighted the need for a separate
negotiating process to be
developed around the
development and delivery of
professional programs through
community pharmacies.
“Clearly the current negotiating
process has fallen down in this
instance and this is evidence that
we need to have one group
representing the business side of
pharmacy negotiating those
aspects of the Community
Pharmacy Agreement, and another
negotiating for professional
services,” he said.
“In the meantime it is critical to
find ways to maintain the funding
of professional pharmacy services,”
he added.
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