THE Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has granted interim authorisation to allow continued revenue sharing between electronic prescription providers eRx and IP MDS Pty Ltd (formerly MediSecure Pty Ltd).
The organisations requested an extension of their existing agreement (PD 17 May) which sees them share equally in the 6CPA electronic prescription fee.
eRx is a wholly owned subsidiary of Guild offshoot Fred IT Group, which is also 50% owned by Telstra Health, while MDS merged with Simple Retail last year.
The ACCC originally authorised the revenue sharing arrangement in 2013, with the authorisation due to expire on 30 Jun 2017.
eRx has lodged a submission requesting an extension for a further three years, meaning it would last until the expiry of the Sixth Community Pharmacy Agreement which is the basis of the funding for the electronic prescription payments.
The ACCC said it sought submissions on the authorisation from pharmacy groups, the Australian Medical Association, the Rural Doctors Association and the Department of Health.
No submissions were received which specifically commented on eRx's request for interim authorisation, and only one submission - from the Pharmacy Guild - relates to the overall application for authorisation.
The decision to grant interim authorisation will allow the parties to maintain the status quo for the industry, with the ACCC saying denying the application could have an adverse impact on the operation and use of electronic prescriptions within pharmacies.
The Commission continues to consider the overall application for authorisation, and said the interim decision should not be taken as an indication of whether or not the final authorisation will be granted.
The above article was sent to subscribers in Pharmacy Daily's issue from 09 Jun 17
To see the full newsletter, see the embedded issue below or CLICK HERE to download Pharmacy Daily from 09 Jun 17