According to an Australian Financial Review report the major pharmaceutical companies have agreed to reduce the Australian government’s medicine bill by AUD $2 billion over the next four years only if they are assured of price modifications in future. The details of the agreement are to be revealed next week and experts believe it will reduce the burden on the federal budget which is still considering the source of funds to pay for its health reform package.
The Pharmacy Agreement will mean that all Australians will continue to have easy access to essential medicines under the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS), by providing security and certainty for Australia’s network of 5,000 community pharmacies. It will provide community pharmacies more than $15 billion over five years, to deliver pharmacy services for all Australians. This deal will also generate savings of about $1 billion on forecast spending for community pharmacies, helping to maintain the sustainability of the health system.
This agreement will also mean a drop in profits for the pharmacies said the Pharmacy Guild of Australia. Pharmaceutical Society of Australia (PSA) acting president Grant Kardachi has welcomed the move. He said that the PSA has played an influential role in professional programs included in the Fifth Community Pharmacy Agreement. In all this deal will increase allocation of funds for a number of pharmacy programs including the Home Medicines Review and Diabetes Medication Management Service programs.
Mr. Kardachi said, “Prior to Christmas when the early announcements were made PSA was concerned at how we seemed to have less money going into professional programs at that point in time.…We worked hard in that area and we would believe that we’ve had some influence in ensuring there’s a strong professional program in the new Agreement….We would’ve liked to have been more involved in the negotiation part of it, but all-in-all we’ve been able to have our input into it.” “The incentives for accreditation and reaccreditation have been removed and I think the Australian Association of Consultant Pharmacy would be concerned by that as well….It could mean that we have less accredited pharmacists and I think at a point in time when we are looking to grow the profession into these professional services that it’s important that we maintain that attraction for people to become accredited,” he added.
Other supporters include Medicines Australia and the Society of Hospital Pharmacists of Australia. However chief executive of the Society Yvonne Allinson believes that the government did not take a “whole health system view point”, saying it needs to be integrated into “the disconnected world that consumers encounter within the broader health system”.
Some main points of the agreement includes;
- Roles and responsibilities of the pharmacist and the pharmacy in clearer terms.
- Safer prescriptions, through encouraging pharmacies to use electronic prescriptions.
- Medication-management programs that will allow pharmacists to provide education and support to patients on how to best use their medications and avoid medication errors.
- Aids for pharmacists to help people who have difficulty adjusting and taking the right doses. Safer dispensing methods and education tools for consumers and pharmacists alike.
- Providing culturally-appropriate pharmacy services to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
The synergy of nutrition and traditional medicine for holistic health and wellbeing