PHARMACY Guild National President George Tambassis has today responded to an article in the Australian Financial Review, defending the Guild's ongoing push to recoup $82 million in pharmacy remuneration which has been unpaid due to lower than expected prescription volumes (PD 01 Dec).
Yesterday Terry Barnes, the co-author of the 1999 National Competition Policy Review of Pharmacy Regulation report, launched a broadside in the AFR against the Pharmacy Guild which he described as "the most disciplined and cashed-up lobby group in the country.
"It makes the Australian Medical Association look like a Brownie troop," he added, going on to detail the "bitter stoush" between the Guild and the government over the dispensing shortfall.
Barnes claimed the Guild's request for the extra compensation means "the normal rules of business don't apply to pharmacists...a typical small business faced with less-than-expected sales would write down profits, tighten its belt and lay off employees.
"The Guild believes pharmacies deserve protection because they're special," he wrote.
Rather than conceding to the Guild demand, Barnes urged health minister Sussan Ley to "remind pharmacists of the generous gravy train they ride, and call the Guild's bluff in the public interest".
The response from Tambassis describes pharmacies as a "true partnership with the public," saying he welcomes the opportunity to air the issue of the volume shortfall.
He detailed the risk share arrangements in the 6CPA, citing the level of certainty provided for the government and pharmacies.
Tambassis slammed Barnes' expertise, saying his "supporting role in a review of pharmacy some 17 years ago hardly makes him an expert on the current landscape of community pharmacies, including the impact of almost a decade of PBS reforms on their viability".
The Guild president claimed the $82m shortfall equated to a bottom line impact of $15,000 for the average community pharmacy.
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