PBS
No to concessional co-payment cut
Pharmacists can offer cost-of-living relief to concession cardholders by opting to discount Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) medicines by up to $1, Mark Butler says Concessional co-payment pain can be eased …
Double dispensing prompts rural action
Rural pharmacists are being urged to share “positive stories” to show that the sector is “indispensable to rural communities” as part of a new campaign The Rural Pharmacy Network Australia …
Double dispensing impact analysis falls short of ‘good practice’
Impact analysis used to support the decision to introduce double dispensing would have benefited from more consultations with pharmacists, a bureaucrat believes An assessment of the impact analysis used to …
Petition fails to move Minister
Pharmacists will not be getting Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) provider numbers any time soon, Moves to provide individual MBS provider numbers to pharmacists will require a recommendation from the Pharmaceutical …
Patients wary of double dispensing: Guild
Warnings that 60-day dispensing could exacerbate medicines shortages and increase the risk of overdose are causing concerns for some patients Convenience is being heralded as a benefit of the proposed …
Government putting PBS at risk
Australia’s Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) will be pushed to the brink of collapse, if plans to implement 60-day dispensing are introduced Plans to slash government spending on dispensing fees through …
‘Short-sighted’ plan to cost millions
Savings made through the federal government’s double dispensing proposal will come at a significant cost, a former Pharmacy Guild of Australia national president warns Moves to implement 60-day dispensing are …
Guild ‘needs you’
Pharmacy owners are being urged to lobby their local politicians to back the Pharmacy Guild of Australia’s Affordable Medicines Now campaign Professor Trent Twomey, the Guild’s National President, wants community …
‘The problem is they’re just going to get Ventolin.’
Stakeholders including pharmacists are warning that the change to criteria for prescribing fluticasone propionate will hurt less wealthy families – especially as we head into winter A change to how …
Script signature requirements will not return
Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) signature requirements will not return, Mark Butler, the federal Minister for Health and Aged Care says Special arrangements authorising pharmacists to sign Prescription Refund Forms on …
‘Outliers’ targeted in anti-fraud bill
One politician has taken aim at “corporate pharmacies” when discussing a bill targeting pharmacy owners who engage in fraud The National Health Amendment (Effect of Prosecution – Approved Pharmacist Corporations) …