PHARMACISTS practicing in remote and isolated towns across Australia have expressed concerns around the ongoing viability of COVID vaccination services following cuts to payments for COVID vaccination administration to align with NIPVIP rates, with rural loadings no longer applying.
The Pharmacy Program Administrator (PPA) announced that from 01 Jul 2025, the payment for administering vaccines will be $20.05 regardless of location.
Prior to 01 Jul, payment for administering the COVID vaccine in major cities (MM1) was $28.35, while in regional, rural and remote locations (MM2-7) it was $31.60.
"It is already unviable for many remote and isolated pharmacies, under the current payment structure, to deliver vaccination services to their communities and this reduction in payment is likely to further exacerbate the barriers to delivery, leading to even poorer access to these services," said a spokesperson for the Remote and Isolated Pharmacist Association Australia (RIPAA).
"This is particularly concerning given the relatively low uptake of COVID boosters nationally in the last six to 12 months and the continuing high rates of infection."
RIPAA agrees that rural loadings should not extend to larger cities such as Hobart and Cairns, as they have done, and is advocating that rural support should be reserved for the "real rural communities" - MM4-7- that lack healthcare access and have higher workforce costs than regional centres (PD 22 May).
RIPAA also pointed out that the Regional Pharmacy Maintenance Allowance (RPMA) does not provide adequate supports to enable smaller isolated and remote pharmacies to deliver the expanding array of non-dispensing programs such as NIPVIP and COVID vaccinations, Home Medicines Reviews (HMRs) and the Aged Care Onsite Pharmacist (ACOP).
"RPMA remains crucial to ensure the viability of pharmacies in thin markets, but it simply is not adequate to support services, where another pharmacist is needed to deliver those services," the spokesperson said.
"If real rural pharmacies are to deliver expanded services, greater recognition must be given to the challenges and higher costs of delivering services in isolated rural and remote locations," they concluded. KB
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