THE Pharmacy Guild has rejected "outrageous and baseless claims" by doctors groups, which have accused it of trying to buy a change in codeine policy through donations to political parties.
A News Limited report this morning quotes Royal Australian College of General Practitioners president Dr Bastian Seidel saying the Guild is "trying to introduce policy through chequebook by donating large amounts to state and federal parties to gain open access to decision makers".
He said the RACGP along with four other health groups had written to state health ministers pleading with them to reject the Guild's bid to change the policy and accusing pharmacists of "putting profits ahead of patients".
The Guild has urged the GPs to stop "continuing to throw mud," insisting that its arguments around an alternative to the complete withdrawal of OTC codeine "have been driven solely by the need to maintain convenient access for patients who use these medicines legitimately, and the safeguard of real-time monitoring for at-risk patients with addiction issues".
The Guild says it is indisputable that there will be a very large increase in GP visits from 01 Feb 2018 by patients seeking prescriptions for codeine-based medicines and advice in relation to the treatment of their pain.
"How will already overstretched doctors manage this increase in demand," the Guild asked today, "respectfully requesting the doctor groups stop hurling abuse and playing political games".
The above article was sent to subscribers in Pharmacy Daily's issue from 18 Oct 17
To see the full newsletter, see the embedded issue below or CLICK HERE to download Pharmacy Daily from 18 Oct 17
