Panadol Osteo de-listing
January 12, 2016
THE Pharmacy Guild of
Australia wants the government
to acknowledge that the de-listing
Panadal Osteo from the
Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme
was a “mistake”.
The criteria for de-listing PBS
medicines states the product must
be available at a price no higher
than the PBS concessional co-payment
of $6.10.
During its July meeting the PBAC
discussed a list of medicines for
possible de-listing armed with
the information about the ex-manufacturer
prices per pack.
At the time the ex-manufacturer
price per pack of Panadol Osteo
was in fact less than $6.10 but the
Guild notes the normal monthly
prescribed PBS quantity of Panadol
Osteo is not one but two packs.
“It is two packs of Panadol Osteo
that osteoarthritis patients have
had dispensed to them every
month in their PBS prescription,
until it was de-listed on 01 Jan,”
the Guild said.
“The result of this flawed
decision is that the vast majority of
Australia’s 1.9 million osteoarthritis
sufferers are now having to pay
significantly more for their essential
pain medication.
“For many pensioners who
normally reach the PBS safety net,
their annual out-of-pocket costs
for Panadol Osteo may triple,” The
Guild continued.
The organisation said it believes
an “elementary error” has been
made and it is time to rectify it.
The Guild said pharmacists and
their patients around Australia will
continue to campaign until the
mistake is fixed.
MEANWHILE analysts have
commented on health minister
Sussan Ley’s decision to refer
GlaxoSmithKline’s post 01 Jan price
rise in Panadol Osteo to the ACCC.
According to a post on Ley’s
website she made the referral
claiming there had been “no
obvious market changes that justify
such a substantial increase”.
However according to
PharmaDispatch yesterday, cited
on the Guild website, a key change
in the market has been the PBS
delisting, with the “government
removing its immense purchasing
power from the Panadol Osteo
market”.
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