Pharmacy
Rural Programs and Services - Fact Sheet
Information on rural programs and services available under the Fourth Community Pharmacy Agreement.
The Fourth Community Pharmacy Agreement (Fourth Agreement) provides funding of up to $111 million for rural programs and services. These programs and services will be funded by the Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing and managed by the Pharmacy Guild of Australia.
The programs and services include:
- Rural Workforce Program;
- Pre-Registration Incentive Allowance; and
- Rural Pharmacy Maintenance, Rural Pharmacy Start-up and Rural Pharmacy Succession Allowances.
The priorities for the rural programs and services identified in the Fourth Agreement include:
- Rural Pharmacy Maintenance Allowance;
- New Pharmacy Start-up and Support Allowance;
- Succession Planning and Incentives;
- Rural Pharmacist Pre-Registration Incentive; and
- Rural Pharmacy Workforce Program.
Rural Pharmacy Workforce Program
The Rural Pharmacy Workforce Program (RPWP) aims to improve pharmacy access for patients in rural and remote areas, through the implementation of strategies that strengthen and support the rural and remote pharmacy workforce in Australia.The RPWP comprises various initiatives designed to recruit, train and retain pharmacists for rural and remote areas, including undergraduate and graduate pharmacy scholarships, and an emergency locum scheme. The RPWP is funded by the Department of Health and Ageing and administered by the Pharmacy Guild of Australia. Up to $25.3 million has been allocated to the RPWP under the Fourth Agreement.
The RPWP includes the following program components:
- Pharmacy Scholarship Scheme;
- Student Placement – Internship Allowance;
- Pharmacy Academics at University Departments of Rural Health;
- Administrative Support to Pharmacy Schools;
- Rural Pharmacy Promotion Campaign;
- Emergency Locum Service;
- Continuing Pharmacy Education / Professional Development Allowance;
- Rural Pharmacy Newsletter;
- Rural and Remote Small Project Funding; and
- Rural Commissioned Projects/ Research Grant Scheme.
- a 50% increase in funds available for Continuing Professional Education and Professional Development;
- up to 30 pharmacy scholarships will be available each year for students from rural and remote backgrounds (an increase of 18% over the previous Agreement); and
- an increase in the value of scholarships from $6,000 per annum to $10,000 per annum (or $40,000 per scholarship), bringing the scholarships into line with those available for other health disciplines.
Pre-Registration Incentive Allowance Program
The Pre-Registration Incentive Allowance Program is aimed at increasing the rural and remote pharmacy workforce by facilitating an increased number of pre-registration placements in rural and remote pharmacies.Up to $10.4 million is available under the Fourth Agreement to fund the Pre-Registration Incentive Allowance Program. An incentive allowance of up to $10,000 may be payable to eligible applicants that employ a pharmacy pre-registrant for a continuous 12 month period to offset the costs of employing and training a pharmacy pre-registrant. An incentive allowance of up to $5000 may be payable to eligible applicants that employ a pharmacy pre-registrant for a continuous 6 month period. For periods between 6 and 12 months the allowance is calculated on a pro-rata basis.
Under the Fourth Agreement, eligible applicants for the incentive allowance have now been expanded to include pharmacists from:
- larger regional centres, while ensuring that major metropolitan areas are excluded; and
- hospital authorities and multi-purpose service centres in rural and remote areas in certain circumstances.
Rural Pharmacy Maintenance, Rural Pharmacy Start-up and Rural Pharmacy Succession Allowances
The Rural Pharmacy Maintenance Allowance recognises the additional financial burden of maintaining a pharmacy in rural and remote areas of Australia. The monthly allowance is paid to eligible proprietors of approved section 90 pharmacies.The amount of the allowance ranges from approximately $3,000 to over $40,000 per annum. The allowance is calculated annually, based on the remoteness of the pharmacy according to the Pharmacy Accessibility Remoteness Index of Australia (PhARIA), and the level of Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) and Repatriation Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (RPBS) prescription volumes. Pharmacies with low prescriptions volumes in more remote areas receive the highest level of the allowance.
The Rural Pharmacy Start-up Allowance encourages the establishment of new pharmacies in remote locations that currently do not have a community pharmacy. Under this initiative a maximum payment of $100,000 (made up of three payments over a two-year period) may be paid to pharmacists opening a new pharmacy in a remote location where there has not been a pharmacy within the previous two years. To claim the start-up allowance, evidence is required to demonstrate that a pharmacy can be viable and would be supported by the community.
The Rural Pharmacy Succession Allowance encourages the retention of existing pharmacies in remote locations that would otherwise close down. The succession allowance provides eligible pharmacists with a maximum payment of $60,000 (made up of three payments over a two-year period) where an existing owner wishes to retire or move, and has been unable to sell for two years or more despite genuine attempts to do so.
The Rural Pharmacy Start-up and Rural Pharmacy Succession Allowances have been instrumental in enabling some 50 pharmacies in more remote areas to open, or to be spared from closure.
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