RAMSAY Health Care has confirmed its pharmacy franchise network is on track to total 55 retail pharmacies once current contracts are completed - including the pending acquisition of Queensland's Malouf Group (PD 23 Aug).
In the company's annual results announcement today Ramsay said the pharmacies are "providing a base for the provision of medication management and other integrated care services to our patients beyond the hospital walls.
"In the past year we have opened four 24/7 community pharmacies which are located in our major hospitals...in the meantime our existing hospital pharmacy dispensing business continues to perform well," the company said.
Ramsay's net profit after tax rose 8.6% to $488.9 million for the year to 30 Jun 2017, with operating revenue up 0.2% to $8.7 billion.
Managing director Craig McNally said Ramsay was continuing to invest heavily in the Australian market, expanding and improving its facilities to "ensure we are well placed to meet the demands of an ageing and growing population".
Ramsay also operates in Europe, Malaysia and Indonesia, with McNally saying across all of the company's existing markets there was exciting potential for out-of-hospital growth opportunities in adjacent businesses including retail pharmacy.
"We will continue to seek opportunities to broaden our care beyond hospitals to deliver integrated care across an increasingly disperse ecosystem," McNally said.
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