Guild faces Senate inquiry
November 23, 2011
THINGS are heating up for the
Pharmacy Guild of Australia, with
Australian Greens Senator Richard
Di Natale yesterday calling for a
Senate inquiry into the Fifth
Community Pharmacy Agreement.
The call follows a letter penned
by a pharmacy coalition including
the Pharmaceutical Society of
Australia, the Consumer Health
Forum and APESMA which
requested an end to the Guild’s
exclusive Community Pharmacy
Agreement negotiations (PD 21 Nov).
The coalition also expressed
concerns over the supposed
damage done to pharmacists’
public image due to recent Guild
controversies, including its now
void Blackmores Companions deal.
Backing up his request Di Natale
said “Financial deals between the
Pharmacy Guild and companies
such as Blackmores and Pfizer have
the potential to compromise healthcare
advice and allow commercial
interests to override the integrity of
the health-care system.
“We need an inquiry into the
agreement and how the interests
of taxpayers, consumers and
pharmacists themselves should be
better represented in the
negotiation process,” he added.
Federal Health Minister, Nicola
Roxon, responded to Di Natale’s
request during a speech at the
National Press Club by saying she
was “open” to the idea of an
inquiry.
Roxon however defended the
current Agreement, saying she had
no intention of renegotiating or
unpicking it within the first years
of its five year term.
Roxon said that whilst she was
open to constructive processes,
she does not “believe in using
Senate inquiries for a witch hunt”.
MEANWHILE Guild National
President, Kos Sclavos, responded
to the furore saying “The Guild
agrees with Senator Di Natale that
it is important that the interests of
pharmacists, consumers and
taxpayers are met through the
Community Pharmacy Agreement.
“We are confident that the
current Agreement – a publicly
available document - meets these
needs in an accountable way,” he
added.
The Guild also went into defence
of the Agreement, saying that the
in the negotiations the interests of
taxpayers and consumers were
“well and truly represented by their
elected Government, and by the
Department of Health and Ageing.
“As the Minister said today, other
professional and health
organisations may seek input into
program delivery, but they cannot
deliver $1 billion in savings to
Government, as the Guild did in the
last negotiation,” the Guild said.
“Through the willingness of the
Guild to negotiate on behalf of its
members, that billion dollar saving
was able to be put to other areas
of the health system.
“The savings were achieved
through reduced remuneration for
community pharmacies,” he said,
with there being “no genuine
need” for an inquiry.
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