Unapproved Board rules
July 12, 2012
UNAPPROVED pharmacies may
dispense medicines listed on the
Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme
and RPBS, but only as non-PBS
(private) supplies, according to the
Pharmacy Board of Australia.
The ruling is outlined in a new
Fact Sheet produced by the
Pharmacy Board which outlines to
all pharmacists the consequences
for consumers in relation to
pharmaceutical benefits
entitlements when obtaining
supply from an unapproved
pharmacy and when
switching between PBS and
non-PBS (private) supply.
An unapproved pharmacy is
defined as a pharmacy which is
licensed to operate as a pharmacy
business, but is not authorised to
supply pharmaceutical benefits and
does not have a PBS Pharmacy
Approval Number.
The Fact Sheet stipulates that if a
patient chooses to have a
prescription that is eligible to be
supplied on the PBS/RPBS, filled at
an unapproved pharmacy the
payment made for that medicine
will not count towards the patient’s
PBS Safety Net Threshold.
In addition the patient cannot
elect to “switch” any subsequent
repeats on that prescription to be
supplied under the PBS/RPBS.
As such, once an unapproved
pharmacy is used to dispense a
valid PBS/RPBS prescription, that
supply, and all subsequent repeats,
must be supplied as non-PBS
(private) supplies.
Conversely if an approved
pharmacy is always used to
dispense an original PBS/RPBS
prescription, and any subsequent
repeats, patients may choose to
“switch” between PBS/RPBS and
private dispensing at any time.
Other restrictions for patients
using unapproved pharmacies to
dispense PBS/RPBS approved
medications, mean that they will
not be able to obtain a refund from
DHS-Medicare for any amount paid
over and above the PBS copayment
for a medicine.
“If your customer wants the
remaining repeats on the
prescription that was previously
dispensed by an unapproved
pharmacy to be dispensed under
the PBS/RPBS, your customer will
need to go back to their prescriber
and ask for a new prescription,” the
Board said.
“The new prescription will then
need to be taken to an approved
pharmacy for dispensing under the
PBS/RPBS,” the Board added.
The above article was sent to subscribers in Pharmacy Daily's issue from 12 Jul 12To see the full newsletter, see the embedded issue below or CLICK HERE to download Pharmacy Daily from 12 Jul 12
