THE Senate's Community Affairs Committee held hearings recently to discuss the Budget measures impacting the pharmacy profession, the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia (PSA) has reported.
During the hearings, the committee questioned officials from the Department of Health regarding various policy measures, including the proposed 60-day dispensing, on-site aged care pharmacist program, and community pharmacy reinvestment.
National President Fei Sim explained that in relation to 60-day dispensing, the Dept has confirmed a substantial component of the "reinvestment" in community pharmacy will be used to top-up budgeted funds for professional services within the 7CPA.
The Dept recognised there may be an increase in medicines wastage, but has described the "likely impact as small in the context of the scale of the PBS and that they intend to monitor this via the RUM program".
Sim shared that in response to questions from ACT independent Senator David Pocock, the Dept described some of the remuneration and transition arrangements for the opioid dependence program, whereby patients will pay a PBS co-payment for the medicine (ie, methadone or buprenorphine), but be subject to no additional charges.
Like other S100 HSD medicines, community pharmacies will be paid a markup, dispensing fee, and Dangerous Drug fee for the dispensing of this item.
A staged supply fee of $5.66 (including a $0.97 consumables allowance) will also be provided for each dose provided by a pharmacist.
The Dept is exploring transition arrangements both for existing prescriptions to be used for a period following the program's start date, and for the availability of OTP medicines for private clinics, but reaffirmed the policy intention is to reduce out-of-pocket patient costs.
On other measures discussed the Dept Deputy Secretary Penny Shakespeare provided the committee with an update on preparation for the scope of practice review.
The Dept is currently preparing the Terms of Reference for the review which will take 12-18 months to complete.
Further, in response to questions regarding vaping reforms, Dept Secretary Brendan Murphy indicated that non-prescription supply of nicotine vapes for smoking cessation by pharmacists is a policy option the TGA is considering, Sim concluded.
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