THERE are growing concerns that funding for the Home Medicines Review (HMR) program is in "jeopardy", with current payments ending under the 7CPA in Feb 2024, according to the Consultant Pharmacists Australia (CoPA), who is calling for funding outside the 8CPA.
With 2,150 plus signatures, CoPA's new petition is marshalling support and urging people to sign it, HERE.
CoPA supporter and Tas-based pharmacist, Angus Thompson said, "each review is funded at $222 which is modest given a HMR takes several hours".
Further, there is no funding for travel, other than for round trips of 200km, which potentially "adds to the inequity between services in urban and rural areas," he added.
Remuneration has been fixed since Jul 2019, "so with increasing costs, credentialed pharmacists have effectively taken a pay cut since 2019," Thompson explained.
Qld-based Credentialled Pharmacist, Karalyn Huxhagen, who has advocated for HMRs since its inception in 2001 said, "it is important that GPs continue to have the option to refer a patient for a HMR directly to an independent credentialled pharmacist and via the patient's usual community pharmacy".
CoPA is advocating for an increase to HMR remuneration commensurate with other health services of similar complexity, and that they are remunerated outside the 8CPA, for example through the Medicare Benefits Schedule.
The group's demands also include increasing the cap of 30 HMRs, a proportion of visits be allowed to be conducted outside the patient's home, reinstating follow-ups by telehealth, and maintaining the current HMR referral pathways.
"It is ironic that the HMR service is in jeopardy at the very time when there is an increasing recognition of the importance of pharmacists practising to full-scope, delivering services that are not directly related to medication supply," Thompson concluded. JG
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