HEALTH Minister Sussan Ley tabled legislative changes to the National Health (Pharmaceutical Benefits) Bill 2016 in Federal Parliament yesterday, including key alterations to day of death dispensing and location rules for temporary premises in the event of a disaster.
The day of death amendment ensures PBS entitlements apply until midnight on the day a concessional beneficiary or a dependent dies, rather than the day prior to death.
This change addresses a long standing, delicate anomaly faced largely by community pharmacies who deliver services and medications to nursing homes.
Without the amendment there was a shortfall in the payment to the pharmacists, equal to the difference between the general patient co-payment and the concessional co-payment ($32.10 per prescription).
The amount owing across all PBS pharmacies is accruing at around $2,000 per month.
A retrospective commencement of the amendment from 01 Apr 2015 will see back payment of outstanding amounts on prescriptions since then.
Also addressed was cutting the red tape in securing an alternative premises for a pharmacy following a disaster such as a fire or flood.
The proposed amendments would allow affected pharmacies to use their PBS approval number to supply medicines at an alternative premises in the same locality for up to six months.
This would give pharmacies time to return to the damaged store or await approval of a new PSB number for a different site.
PBS claims will be paid at the full rate, not at the current setting of 90%, during this period.
Such allowances are reserved only for cases where the pharmacy is beyond use due to a major disaster or event.
The Secretary of The Department of Health will determine whether the circumstances meet the criteria.
The Guild has thrown its support behind the changes, calling them both "common sense solutions".
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