Pharmacy Daily | Continued dispensing passes

AN amendment to the National Health (Fifth Community Pharmacy Agreement) Bill 2011 passed by the Senate yesterday will allow pharmacists to continue to supply certain medications without a repeat prescription. The “continued dispensing” amendment allows pharmacists to provide birth control pills and statins under the following circumstances: • There is an immediate and ongoing need for supply of the medicine to facilitate continuity of therapy, and the patient cannot get to a prescriber in time to get a valid prescription • The medicine has been previously prescribed for the person, and there has been prior clinical review by the prescriber that supports continuation of the medicine. • The medicine is safe and approriate for that consumer. • The pharmacist provides written communication to the most recent prescriber advising of the supply of the medicine to the consumer within 24 hours. The Pharmacy Guild of Australia said the move “implements key initiatives of the Community Pharmacy Agreement, both of which will deliver better health outcomes for Australian consumers”. Guild national president, Kos Sclavos, said that prescribing would continue to be the sole domain of the patient’s doctor. “Pharmacists always have the highest regard for their close working relationships with doctors, and the Guild is confident this limited measure will ensure the best outcomes for patients”. The legislative amendment also provides for the dispensing of PBS medicines from a medication chart, rather than a prescription form, for residents of residential aged care facilities. “This measure will improve patient safety and streamline administrative procedures for doctors, pharmacists and staff of aged care facilities,” Sclavos said. Health minister Tanya Plibersek said the passing of the bill was “a big win for patients who can’t always make it to the doctor before their medications run out”. She said the amendment would complement existing emergency supply mechanisms - but these new arrangements would mean that patients would have access to the medicines through the PBS rather than paying full price. Sclavos thanked the government and opposition for supporting the passage of the “important legislation,” and said he was looking forward to State and Territory governments making any consequential legislative changes necessary for continued dispensing “to facilitate this very sensible and beneficial change”. Last year almost 22 million statin prescriptions (costing the PBS $1.1 billion) were filled by Australian pharmacists, along with 590,000 scripts for the pill, worth $7m.

---

The above article was sent to subscribers in Pharmacy Daily's issue from 02 Mar 12
To see the full newsletter, see the embedded issue below or CLICK HERE to download Pharmacy Daily from 02 Mar 12