Pharmacy Daily | Forum to hear first-hand 60DD impact

MORE than 20 community pharmacists attended the first community pharmacy forum held by MP Karen Andrews last week to discuss the change to the dispensing medicines policy.

Amanda Seeto, the Guild's Qld branch Vice President said it's important the community are aware of the impacts that will fundamentally change the way patients get medicine and access support from their local pharmacist.

"What we have been asking is that the Federal Government provide a guarantee that no patient and no community pharmacy will be worse off under their new medicine policy.

"The Govt's $3.5 billion cut will mean pharmacists will need to make tough decisions that will see some shut their doors, others close on weekends, open later in the morning or close early in the evening, meaning patients will miss out on vital medicines and health services.

"Not everyone will benefit from 60-day dispensing, but everyone will suffer," explained Seeto.

Andrews shared, "this forum allowed us to hear first-hand from local community pharmacists of the very real impacts that will flow from this policy change.

"There are safety risks with medicine misadventures with more medicines in households, and potential medicine hoarding, which can be concerning for the elderly.

"Several pharmacists said they may no longer be able to afford cross-subsidising the cost of packing for aged care, forcing the cost of the packing back on the most vulnerable in our community.

"Gold Coasters need relief from cost-of-living pressures, but the answer isn't to push pharmacists to absorb the costs," said Andrews.

Further Seeto commented that the responsibility of administering medicines in aged care "would fall to registered nurses, and in some cases two registered nurses if administering a narcotic substance".

"This additional responsibility would be difficult to address with the current shortage of registered nurses working in aged care."