Review report out today
July 27, 2016
THE long-awaited
discussion paper from
the Review of Pharmacy
Remuneration and
Regulation is expected
to be released today,
with the review panel
also confirming details
of a national round of
consultation sessions.
“The Review Panel
is committed
to consulting
broadly to gain
an extensive view of pharmacy
in Australia and the factors
contributing to patient health
outcomes and the quality use of
medicines,” according to an update
on the review website.
The report warns that some
stakeholders will see parts of the
discussion paper as “contentious
and provocative” - a deliberate
move because “in order to properly
analyse the current system of
pharmacy remuneration and
regulation, existing approaches
must be critically examined.
“While many parts of the system
will stand up to such close scrutiny,
other parts may be revealed as
inadequate and in need of reform.”
The paper will pose a total
of 140 questions - many
of them controversial -
seeking comment on
such issues as location
rules, pharmacy business
models, dispensing fees,
the current wholesaler
CSO model and even
whether Community
Pharmacy
Agreements are
necessary at all.
The review
website also now details the public
forums to be held in metropolitan
and regional centres from 01 Aug
to 07 Sep 2016.
The evening events, taking place
from 7-9pm in each location, will
take place in Perth, Adelaide,
Broken Hill, Melbourne, Hobart,
Launceston, Canberra, Wagga
Wagga, Albury-Wodonga, Cairns,
Brisbane, Sydney, Broome, Darwin
and Alice Springs.
The public consultations will
culminate in a “national interactive
live webcast” which will be
broadcast from Canberra on the
evening of 07 Sep.
Stakeholders wishing to attend
any of the events are asked to
email the review secretariat on
pharmacy.review@health.gov.au
with the location of the forum
they wish to attend, the number of
participants attending and whether
they are a pharmacist or consumer.
The panel, which is chaired by
Industrial Economist, Professor
Stephen King (pictured above) says
it will provide its Final Report by
Mar 2017.
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