THE Australian "tried and trusted community pharmacy model" received a shot in the arm with the passage through Federal Parliament last week of amendments that removed the sunset clause on the Pharmacy Location Rules (PD 14 Feb), Pharmacy Guild of Australia executive director David Quilty writes.
Quilty used his editorial in Forefront to highlight that the location rules were supported by the Coalition, Labor and the Greens for very good reason.
"Pharmacies are highly accessible to the public, while providing a significant level of choice for consumers, without the issues of long waiting times in rural towns and lower socio-economic areas that exist in other parts of the health system, often necessitating large government subsidies," wrote Quilty.
"At the same time, the Location Rules provide a level of certainty for the owners of nearly 5,700 pharmacies who invest their private capital in the infrastructure that is required to deliver the PBS on behalf of the Commonwealth."
Citing the UK example where such regulatory controls have been relaxed, Quilty said this has led to an inefficient over-concentration of large numbers of pharmacies in preferred locations, with policymakers regretting the change and contemplating rectifying actions to ensure sustainability.
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