THE Pharmacy Guild has quantified the amount it is seeking from the government under the 'risk share' provisions of the Sixth Community Pharmacy Agreement, with the 2.14% shortfall in prescription volumes in 2015/16 equating to a total $82 million reimbursement for pharmacies.
The figures were revealed by Guild executive director David Quilty in his regular Forefront update yesterday, following last week's confirmation of the discrepancy (PD 23 Nov).
Quilty said the prescription volume shortfall is good news for the government, estimating it is delivering savings of over $400m.
However "the shortfall equates to a $15,000 reduction in remuneration for the average pharmacy dispensing 55,000 scripts a year, at a time when the annualised adverse impact of the government's PBS reforms is an estimated $42,000 per pharmacy".
Quilty said it was urgent that pharmacies be reimbursed, with many struggling to maintain their profitability.
"As a signatory to the Agreement, the risk share is fundamental to the Guild and we will continue to rigorously prosecute our case so that an outcome is achieved for implementation from 1 January," he concluded.
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