SYMBION is hosting a series of forums for Pharmacy Choice and healthSAVE members, helping to educate retail pharmacies about the impacts of the rescheduling of codeine in Feb next year.
Symbion's Luke McKinnon said front-line pharmacy played a critical role in educating consumers about alternative medication solutions.
"These forums are a significant opportunity to ensure pharmacists handing out the script continue to deliver professional service at the medicine counter," he said.
McKinnon added that Symbion was working closely with pharmacy to manage the transition in stock levels, introducing new products and phasing out S2 and S3 items.
He noted that currently S3 codeine sales contribute an average of 48% of total gross profit dollars in the pain category, with the figures "highlighting the significant financial challenges the changes will bring".
Symbion offers a Store IQ Codeine Impact report, providing pharmacies with the "visibility on codeine sales and profit impacts they need to successfully manage the transition," McKinnon said.
The next Symbion forum is in Canberra on Tue 06 Sep.
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