PHARMACIES located in a Modified Monash Model category 3 to 7 location but do not meet eligibility requirements for the Rural Pharmacy Maintenance Allowance (RPMA) may still be able to access partial payments.
Under the revised scheme funding will be made available to pharmacies based on their location and script volume, with stores in the MMM 7 category who have a script volume of less than 21,893 a year will receive $51,328 from 01 Jan until the end of the 2020/21 Financial Year.
However, a number of rural pharmacy owners have reported that their funding will be slashed to "zero" under the new model (PD 04 Jan).
The Pharmacy Programs Administrator (PPA) noted the MMM classifications were set using population data from the 2016 census and geographic information.
Under the program, pharmacy owners cannot apply to have their store's location reclassified.
Although pharmacies located in MMM category 3 to 7 locations who have seen their funding cut under the new program, can submit an exceptional circumstances request to the Federal Department of Health (DoH) for review.
"A case will be presented to the DoH who will approve or decline the applications," the PPA said.
"Approval could result in partial payments."
CLICK HERE for further details on the revised RPMA.
The above article was sent to subscribers in Pharmacy Daily's issue from 05 Jan 21
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