PHARMACY Guild president George Tambassis has accused Courier Mail journalist Mike O'Connor of being "naive at best and misleading at worst," after a report where the writer argued against location rules by likening the current community pharmacy model to competition between restaurants.
O'Connor "fails to take into account that the rules are designed to ensure maximum access for consumers to the health services provided by community pharmacies," Tambassis said, with the existing arrangements ensuring that some 87% of Australians live within 2.5km of at least one pharmacy.
"This level of access to pharmacies is higher than for supermarkets, banks and medical centres in both capital cities and regional areas," Tambassis said.
"This is an access that is an envy of many health systems across the world," the Guild president added, noting that the location rules had been designed "to ensure the optimal distribution of pharmacies by preventing clustering in urban areas and encouraging location of pharmacies in rural areas".
Tambassis said the system had been so successful that all Australian jurisdictions had consistently reaffirmed their support for the current model because they recognise its benefits and safeguards for consumers - including ensuring that all Australians had access to PBS medicines through a "viable, sustainable network of community pharmacies" across the country.
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