For the first time, eligible patients will be able to obtain medicines for UTIs and hormonal contraceptives at Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) pricing, improving affordability and accessibility.

‘Breaking down healthcare barriers’

PSA National President Associate Professor Fei Sim FPS, who has co-chaired the Access, Care and Outcome Subcommittee under the federal government’s Women’s Health Advisory Council since 2023, describes the announcement as a significant step forward in breaking down healthcare barriers, particularly in rural and regional areas.

“Women deserve to receive timely, high-quality care, and pharmacists are trained and ready to support them in managing their health,” says Associate Professor Sim.

‘Announcement takes pharmacy programs further’

Associate Professor Sim emphasises the critical role pharmacists already play in enabling women to access treatment for UTIs and repeat prescriptions for hormonal contraceptives.

“This announcement will take these programs one step further, allowing pharmacists to initiate hormonal contraceptives and supply medications under the PBS for the first time,” she says.

With bipartisan support, cements pharmacists’ role as trust, accessible healthcare providers, reinforcing their ability to deliver essential women’s health services.

“Community pharmacists are trusted, accessible healthcare professionals.

“These policy changes are a game changer for women around the country,” says Associate Professor Sim.

PSA committed to pharmacy education and training

PSA is committed to equipping pharmacists with high-quality education and training to ensure safe and effective care under the new policies.

“PSA is proud to support these initiatives with high-quality education and training for pharmacists, building the capacity and expertise of our profession as we scale up our health care services for women across Australia.

“PSA looks forward to working closely with governments and healthcare stakeholders to ensure the success of these trials and to continue strengthening pharmacists’ role in women’s healthcare across Australia,” says Associate Professor Sim.

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Both parties have committed to secure a new agreement that will commence on 1 March 2024.

Pharmacy Guild President Trent Twomey said all pharmacists wanted cheaper medicine for their patients and that could be achieved without negatively impacting community pharmacies.

“The Pharmacy Guild of Australia remains committed to working with the Albanese Government to deliver cheaper medicines in a way that does not adversely impact the viability of community pharmacies, or patients’ access to community pharmacy services.

“We thank the Prime Minister and the Health Minister for hearing our concerns and 60-day dispensing, along with other reforms, will now be dealt with in the normal way under a Community Pharmacy Agreement.

“We also thank the Leader of the Opposition, the Leader of the Nationals, the Shadow Health Minister and all Liberal and Nationals MPs and senators, crossbench MPs and senators and thousands of community pharmacists and their patients for making their voices heard on the unintended consequences of this policy.

“Pharmacists are ready, willing and able to step up and provide more care and services to patients, at a time when the health system is under significant strain, and we look forward to those opportunities within the 8th Community Pharmacy Agreement.

“We must ensure the core clinical service of community pharmacies, the dispensing of prescription medicines, is remunerated appropriately to help ensure these opportunities for a greater role of community pharmacists in the delivery of patient care are realised.”

To facilitate the commencement of good faith negotiations, the Pharmacy Guild has offered to suspend its public information campaign and that has been accepted by the Health Minister and the Prime Minister.

The Pharmacy Guild will continue to work with pharmacies that are most impacted by 60-day dispensing to ensure their viability remains intact while negotiations start with the Government, ahead of 1 March 2024.

Text: Pharmacy Guild. 

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SBS News reports a “second motion to delay the laws” has been lodged by the Coalition, “which will be introduced to parliament after the laws have already come into effect” in September.

Speaking to 6PR Mornings today (10 August) Mark Butler, Minister for Health and Aged Care said: “Halving the cost of medicines for 6 million patients who are on the same medicine, often for decades or the rest of their lives, but currently have to go back to the pharmacy every 30 days […] it’s good for their hip pocket, but also what it does to free up millions of GP consults […] rather than clogging up GP rooms just to get in for a routine repeat script.”

‘Hear our concerns and properly consult with us’ 

In response to this, the Pharmacy Guild of Australia has released a statement calling on the Albanese Government to sit down and properly consult with pharmacists, and commit to an early start date for an eighth Community Pharmacy Agreement (8CPA) over the next three weeks, before the Senate returns on 4 September to consider further disallowance motions.

The Guild says community pharmacists want cheaper medicine for all patients, while also preventing further negative impacts on patients, aged care residents and pharmacies, as a result of unintended consequences from 60DD.

Pharmacy Guild President Professor Trent Twomey says more time is needed to ensure unintended consequences didn’t negatively impact patients and pharmacies.

“All pharmacists want cheaper medicine for their patients and we are ready, willing and able to sit down with the Government and make sensible adjustments to the policy so patients, aged care residents and pharmacists aren’t negatively impacted,” says Professor Twomey.

“We want the Government to hear our concerns, properly consult with us, and commit to an early start date for an eighth Community Pharmacy Agreement, before the Senate considers further potential motions when they return on 4 September.

“Instead of the Labor Party disallowing their own policy today in the Senate, we should be sitting down and getting this policy right for millions of patients and thousands of community pharmacies.

“With more time we can implement a policy that doesn’t force hundreds of pharmacies to close, puts thousands of pharmacy workers out of a job, and increases the cost of services for every aged care resident in the country.”

60DD: the negative consequences

The Guild states that an independent economic report on the Federal Government’s 60DD policy has found the policy, in its current form, will have negative consequences for the delivery of frontline healthcare across the country.

The report conducted by economist Henry Ergas AO, with Tulipwood Economics and Griffith University’s Relational Insights Data Lab, reveals:

• 665 community pharmacies will be forced to close, and a further 900 will be at risk of closing, over the next four years.
• 20,818 workers in community pharmacies will lose their jobs over the next four years.
• Community pharmacies will be forced to cut opening hours by 2.5 hours each day, on average.
• 3597 jobs will be lost in rural and remote community pharmacies over the next four years.
• $4.5 billion will be cut from community pharmacies, and none of the money taken out will be reinvested.
• Free services like blood pressure monitoring, weight checking, home delivery of medicines and asthma monitoring will be cut.

According to the statement released by the Guild, a nationwide survey of 1000 community pharmacies, conducted by the Pharmacy Guild in the past week, shows almost one in four (23%) have reduced opening hours and more than half (54%) have increased fees for services. 250 pharmacy workers have also been made redundant.

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The nationwide survey of 1000 community pharmacies, conducted by the Pharmacy Guild, shows almost one in four (23%) have reduced opening hours and more than half (54%) have increased fees for services. 250 pharmacy workers have also been made redundant.

It comes as the Australian Patients Association, Pain Australia, Better Access Australia, Pharmaceutical Society of Australia and the Pharmacy Guild are calling for the policy to be delayed by supporting a disallowance motion in the Senate to help prevent further unintended consequences impacting patients, aged care residents and pharmacies.

‘Delay until viability of pharmacies guaranteed’ 

Pain Australia Chief Executive Giulia Jones said the policy should be delayed until the viability of pharmacies in rural and regional areas is guaranteed.

“We believe there needs to be time to ensure no rural and regional pharmacies will close when people with chronic pain already struggle to get access to the pain medications they need in rural and regional Australia.”

‘Cheaper medicines worth nothing if no one dispensing’

Better Access Australia Chairwoman Felicity McNeill PSM said cheaper medicine is worth nothing if there is no one in your local area to dispense it.

“Better Access Australia are seeing huge pressure on pharmacies to deliver the Opiate Dependence Treatment Program because the Government didn’t do its homework before rushing out the announceable.

“The parliament needs to give everyone in the community the time to make sure this reform works for everyone: patients, pharmacies, suppliers, wholesalers, government.”

‘Community pharmacy struggling to come to terms with changes’

Pharmaceutical Society of Australia (PSA) Lead for the Community Pharmacy Agreement Dr Shane Jackson said “alignment of the implementation of the 8th Community Pharmacy Agreement is paramount to give patients, the profession and the healthcare sector certainty”.

“Currently, community pharmacy is struggling to come to terms with the impacts of these changes and it makes sense to pause, consult and implement a policy that leaves community pharmacy in a better position to address the current challenges affecting patients accessing healthcare,” Dr Jackson said.

‘Delaying rollout the right move’ 

Pharmacy Guild Vice President Anthony Tassone said delaying the rollout is the right move for pharmacies and patients.

“All pharmacists want to make medicines more affordable for their patients, but we can’t do this in a way that forces hundreds of pharmacies to close, puts thousands of pharmacy workers out of a job, and increases the cost of services for every aged care resident in the country.

“We are asking senators to support a disallowance motion to pause the rollout of 60-day dispensing, which will provide more time for the Government to consult and get this policy right.

“The Pharmacy Guild is ready and willing to sit down with the Albanese Government to get this policy right and safeguard the future of 6,000 community pharmacies across the country.”

Text: Pharmacy Guild of Australia. 

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In a statement released on 7 August, the Guild says that almost every single aged care resident in Australia could be faced with a new cost of at least $800 per year to have their medicine packed and delivered to them from 1 September, if community pharmacy funding cuts begin as planned.

The Guild says medicines are currently packed and delivered to 188,000 aged care residents each week for free, in the form of Dose Administration Aids (DAA) or Webster Packs, with the cost subsidised by dispensing fees.

According to the Guild, new industry and government data shows the free service costs approximately $15 ($15.50) per week for each resident, equating to $806 annually.

“The Albanese Government is unfairly forcing a huge new cost on aged care residents because they haven’t consulted and they don’t understand what they are doing,” Pharmacy Guild National President Professor Trent Twomey is quoted as saying in the Guild statement.

“We are calling on Albanese Government to pause the roll-out of 60-day dispensing, sit down and consult with community pharmacies and aged care providers to ensure no resident or pharmacy is worse off.”

However, during a doorstop interview on 7 August, Minister for Health and Aged Care, the Hon Mark Butler, questioned the Guild’s stance, calling it a “scare campaign” and saying that under The Guiding Principles “aged care facilities are funded to take responsibility for [the] medication management of their residents”.

“The Guiding Principles make it very clear that facilities are expected to have medicine packaging arrangements in place so that their residents get the right medicine, at the right dose, at the right time, every single day,” Minister Butler said.

“Now, some facilities have effectively outsourced that responsibility to their local community pharmacy to do the Webster packs – to package the medicine needs for every day.

“And that, no doubt, reflects the fact that being the supplier of medicines to an aged care facility as a pharmacy can be a pretty lucrative source of revenue for pharmacies. For a 100-bed facility, for example, it might mean as much as $150,000 a year in income just for the dispensing and handling fees for those medicines.

“But let me be clear, these arrangements are the responsibility of an aged care facility […] This is the responsibility of facilities whether they do it themselves, or they outsource it to pharmacies.”

When questioned further about the Guild’s “scare campaign”, Minister Butler further reiterated that “aged care facilities are funded for this service [medication management]” and that medication management is the “responsibility of the facility not of the resident”, adding that this “has nothing to do with 60-day prescribing”.

“Now, they [aged care facilities] might outsource that to pharmacies, they might do it in-house – that’s not really a matter for the aged care resident, Minister Butler said.

“The issue is: Government funds aged care facilities to do it, they’ve got a responsibility to do it. So, this idea of a new fee or a new tax on aged care residents is […] ignores the reality of aged care funding arrangements and seeks to instil fear in some of our most vulnerable members of the community.”

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Welcoming the announcement, Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) President Dr Nicole Higgins says this is a “positive step forward for the healthcare of women and girls”.

“We must address inequalities in healthcare and that includes the treatment and care of women and children,” Dr Higgins said.

The Council will provide advice to improve the nation’s health system for women and girls, including healthcare offered in relation to menstruation, reproductive options, menopause, medical consent, and pain management.

It will also consider medical research and health outcomes for women across a range of conditions, like heart disease, autism, and cancer care.

The Council will be chaired by Assistant Minister for Health and Aged Care Ged Kearney, with Dr Higgins acting as a special adviser.

Dr Higgins says establishing the Council is “a great start” in the work needed to “improve healthcare outcomes for women and girls in communities across Australia”.

“The Council has enormous potential to be a game-changer,” Dr Higgins said.

“It will comprise eminent women’s health experts along with representatives from peak health organisations, consumer groups and professional bodies including women with lived experience.

“We have a new government, and a new opportunity to improve healthcare for half of Australia’s population.

“Let’s … make sure that women and girls have tailored healthcare that reflects their experiences,” she said.

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Dietitians Australia CEO Robert Hunt says that nutrition remains a big issue in Australia, and calls for a coordinated approach to address this – one that is “backed by serious dollars”, he says.

“We’ve called on the previous Government and we’re asking the Albanese Government now for a major redevelopment of the National Nutrition Policy, which hasn’t been updated since the Labour Government in 1992,” he says.

“If we keep eating the way we do, the most recent data available shows Australia is on track to foot an over 80 billion dollar bill to deal with obesity-related health costs.”

Mr Hunt says that one way to improve Australia’s nutrition intake is through public health education campaigns.

Practical advice when prices soar 

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The Prime Minister had just stepped off the plane from his much-publicised visit to Japan for the Quad meeting and walked into the pharmacy this morning to pick up a few items.

“I’d heard that he was in Japan, so it was a surprise to see him appear in the Pharmacy this morning,” said Blooms The Chemist Marrickville Pharmacist-owner, Andrew Ioannou.

“The PM said he’d literally gotten off the plane and had to stop by our Marrickville store to pick up a few items.

“He is a regular of ours, so it wasn’t a total surprise to see him – the difference was, last time he was in here, he was just our local Member for Grayndler, now he’s our Prime Minister as well.”

The Marrickville store is very multicultural, which reflects the makeup of the suburb. The pharmacists and pharmacy assistants come from a range of cultural backgrounds including Greek and Vietnamese.

“It’s a great melting pot in Marrickville and it’s a huge benefit that our Blooms The Chemist team can communicate and converse with the locals in their language, especially the elderly clients who sometimes struggle with discussing their health and medication needs in English,” Mr Ioannou said.

Medication affordability was a topic of discussion during the election campaign and both the Coalition and Labor made pledges to cut the maximum general PBS co-payment to make medicines more affordable for most Australians. The Albanese Government promised a cut from the current $42.50 to $30.

One of Blooms The Chemist’s core values is to provide accessible and affordable pharmacy health care to all Australians.

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