A NEW Community Pharmacy Consultation Committee (CPCC) which will be established under the Seventh Community Pharmacy Agreement (7CPA) aims to "increase transparency over the management" of the five-year deal.
The committee, which will feature up to three appointees nominated by both the Pharmacy Guild of Australia and the Department of Health, and will meet up to two times a year "unless the Department and the Guild agree that one or more additional needs are required".
Details of the new committee and a Pharmacy Stakeholder Consultation Committee (PSCC), which will include representatives of 7CPA co-signatory, the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia (PSA) are included in the agreement, which was officially published last night - a week after the deal was signed.
"The CPCC is to the be primary consultation mechanism to support the achievement of the Commonwealth and the Guild's objectives under this agreement," the 7CPA says.
"The CPCC is not a decision making body, but the CPCC may provide advice or options to the signatories of the 7CPA, and to the representative of the Australia Government for the purposes of the 7CPA.
"The CPCC does not supplant or limit the Department's obligations under the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013 to ensure the proper use of public resources."
The CPCC will be responsible for formulating options for key performance measures, respond to issues directly relating to services and programs under the 7CPA where performance outcomes are not being achieved, and to support adherence to the 7CPA and relevant legislative obligations.
Under the 7CPA the PSCC has been designed to "facilitate broad engagement between parties interested in the operation and development of the elements of the pharmacy sector funded by the Commonwealth, including Community Pharmacy Programs.
The PSCC will feature up to three appointees each nominated by the Guild, PSA and the Department, while representatives of other stakeholders such as the Consumers' Health Forum, may been invited if appropriate.
Meetings where the PSCC is considering matters relevant to Indigenous Australians will be chaired by a representative of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, under the terms of the agreement.
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