COMMUNITY pharmacists appear to be bearing the punishment for the sins of others when it comes to breaches of Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) compliance, Pharmacy Guild of Australia Executive Director, Suzanne Greenwood, believes.
While backing the Commonwealth Department of Health's efforts to crack down on intentional PBS fraud, Greenwood expressed concerns that its recent compliance activity has "focused on unintentional administrative anomalies".
In a column in the Guild's Forefront newsletter, Greenwood said the Department's actions were "traumatic to the pharmacists and staff involved, and can affect patient care".
"This is compounded by the COVID-19 pandemic which has proved to be an enormous challenge for the entire health sector," she said.
But throughout the pandemic, community pharmacies have gone to great lengths to stay open and support the primary healthcare of the Australian public.
"They have served -- and continue to serve - the needs of their community as prescribers transitioned to telehealth arrangements and working remotely.
"So, when we combine changes within the PBS with the myriad external factors brought about by the pandemic, we see an often confusing and rapidly evolving situation for both prescribers and pharmacists which occasionally can result in unintended non-compliance.
"It is also notable that while the Government's Provider Compliance Strategy has provider education and support as the foundation, the focus for PBS compliance appears to only target pharmacies.
"It is the pharmacists who are being penalised for administrative errors that were often due to prescribers unfamiliar with their PBS obligations.
"In many cases, the issue may be minor but the potential impact on the patient can be huge."
Greenwood called on the Department to "prioritise an education and awareness campaign" for providers, noting "prescribers must understand PBS requirements to ensure that prescriptions are properly written at the outset".
She also said a review and update of PBS Online alerts was needed, with pharmacists noting it was easy to overlook a warning, whereas claim rejections prompt urgent attention by dispensary staff.
The above article was sent to subscribers in Pharmacy Daily's issue from 15 Jul 21
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