HCH plans need pharmacy
August 25, 2016
GOVERNMENT plans to rollout
Stage One of its Health Care Homes
(HCH) plan as announced earlier
this year (PD 01 Apr) has drawn
widespread support but serious
urging from The Pharmacy Guild
and the Pharmaceutical Society of
Australia (PSA) around engagement
of pharmacists, to make the
program broadly viable.
Yesterday, Prime Minister
Malcolm Turnbull announced the
ten regions across the country that
will participate in this first stage of
the Health Care Homes model.
Led by their local GP, patients
will find their health care needs
coordinated in a way that aims
to keep them out of hospital,
especially those with chronic
disease profiles, Turbull explained.
The first stage will be an
investment of $120 million in the
Primary Health Network regions
of Western Sydney (NSW), Perth
North (WA), Tasmania, Hunter New
England and Central Coast (NSW),
Brisbane North (QLD), South
Eastern Melbourne (VIC), Adelaide
(SA), Northern Territory, Nepean-
Blue Mountains (NSW) and Country
South Australia.
While the Guild says it recognises
the central role of the GP in
the program, it considers the
the criticality of the role of the
community pharmacy in working
collaboratively with GPs and other
health professionals in delivering
Quality Use of Medicine outcomes
for patients isn’t always sufficiently
recognised or remunerated in
collaborative care models.
The Pharmaceutical Society
said it welcomes the plans and is
committed to working with the HCH
Advisory Group to co-design a HCH
model for the Australian context,
which is based on best practice and
evidence-based models of care.
The PSA said pharmacists were
key to maximising patient health
benefits by cutting polypharmacy,
reducing medication-based hospital
admissions and in turn impacting
overall primary care costs.
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