PHARMACY leaders are being urged to "tread the halls" of Parliament House to educate politicians and bureaucrats about the benefits of biosimilars, former Commonwealth Department of Health Secretary, Jane Halton (pictured), believes.
The Generic and Biosimilar Medicines Association (GBMA) Independent Chair, told delegates at the Australian Pharmacy Professional Conference (APP) that she was "genuinely concerned and very worried" about the lack of understanding of biosimilar medications in the halls of power.
"It concerns me that people have become very inward focused," Halton said.
"They're very focused on just process and they're not curious, and in the absence of curiousity the problem is your knowledge remains very fixed, and you don't see the challenge and opportunity.
"I don't think there's an easy fix for this... it does require a high level of engagement and advocacy on your behalf.
"The messages you want to share are not just about pharmacy specifically, they're also about medicines, they're about the opportunities that there are for Australia and Australian patients."
Halton also expressed concerns over the public's health literacy.
"One thing I worry about and we're seeing at the moment is patients pick up on things in the media, and they worry," she said.
"Your leadership does need to regularly tread the halls and go and sit in those conference rooms in the 'serious building' [Parliament House].
"We need to be out talking more about what [biosimilars] are and why they're important.
"Biosimilars are absolutely the coming thing, and we need to talk about this, and sadly not just to the public and your patients, but also to Government."
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