Address to the Pharmacy Guild of Australia Annual Parliamentary Dinner Great Hall, Parliament House, Canberra, 21 November 2011
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I acknowledge the traditional custodians of the land and pay my respects to their elders past and present;
I would also like to acknowledge:
- Kos Sclavos, National President, Pharmacy Guild of Australia;
- Wendy Phillips, CEO, Pharmacy Guild of Australia;
- Members of Parliament,
- Pharmacy Guild National Councillors.
It has been almost four years since the Labor Government entered office, in which time we have travelled a long way in health reform – and the Guild has been strong partners on this journey.
Community pharmacists are the essential link in our health system between doctors, pharmaceutical manufacturers, hospitals – of course Government fits in there somewhere! – and the people we all aim to serve, the millions of Australians who rely on receiving world-best health care.
The Government fully acknowledges that community pharmacy is a key element in assisting patients to navigate the challenges of innovative new medicines, competing medical claims, and wider health reforms.
We hope to strengthen your role in community health, by:
- Bringing pharmacy even closer to the centre of the national health reform agenda;
- Improving community recognition and support for the pharmacy profession; and
- Confronting some of the joint challenges we face.
Working together to deliver health reform
When the Minister for Health and Ageing first addressed you in 2008, she talked about the need for innovative solutions to improve healthcare outcomes in Australia, such as a greater focus on primary health care.We are starting to reap the benefit of this focus through the Government’s health reform agenda.
A central pillar of these reforms is the $15.4 billion, five-year, Fifth Community Pharmacy Agreement, particularly the clear role for pharmacists to maintain and improve professional practice.
We all know the traditional role of pharmacists is changing, and has been for some time, from ‘dispensing’ towards ‘holistic patient care’.
The Agreement confirms that the pharmacist is at the centre of health reform, by formalising and building on this expanded health care role.
The Agreement has paved the way for programs to enable and encourage pharmacists to take a stronger role in providing quality services and front- line primary care to patients.
These programs strengthen the care and advice that patients are able to receive in the community – in pharmacies, aged care facilities or their homes – to help them stay out of hospital.
In particular, the Community Pharmacy Service Charter outlines the roles and responsibilities of the pharmacist and the pharmacy; and the Customer Service Statement better informs consumers of the services they can expect from their local pharmacy.
And on 1 July this year, the Pharmacy Practice Incentives Program began delivering incentives to support dose administration aids, staged supply of medicines, and recording clinical interventions.
The response from pharmacies has been overwhelming, and stands as a solid endorsement of your professionalism and desire to improve community health.
Then in August, we saw the start of the MedsCheck and Diabetes MedsCheck in pharmacy pilot program.
Three hundred pharmacies are involved in this program of medication reviews, designed to improve consumers’ understanding of their medication, and through this, to promote the quality use of medicine.
Medicare Locals are another component our national health reform program, and one in which pharmacists are playing a role.
The long-standing system is fragmented and piecemeal.
Many people miss out on the services they need, or are treated in inappropriate settings.
Medicare Locals will ‘connect’ patients and service providers so they can better navigate the healthcare system.
By linking and coordinating local healthcare providers, people will have clear paths and options.
Professional pharmacists should be, and will be, front and centre in these new, local structures.
It is pleasing to hear of the selection of three pharmacists for the first wave of Medicare Local Boards and you are encouraged to involve yourselves in the new Boards as they’re established.
Protecting the reputation and role of community pharmacy
The community pharmacist occupies a special position of trust and responsibility in the community – to be both the reliable source of medicines, and provider of impartial healthcare advice.The Pharmacy Guild, in turn, faces the challenge of protecting this role and constructively representing the interests of pharmacists, while also developing revenue opportunities and supporting pharmacy supply chains – after all, pharmacies are small businesses and they must remain profitable to effectively meet their health care obligations.
In the rapidly-changing world of pharmaceuticals, with major lines coming off patent, new drugs becoming available, new claims of medical superiority, and moves from hospital to community care, it’s tempting – but unrealistic – to try to freeze some parts of the sector in place.
We cannot just stagnate, but must work to ensure patients retain access to vital medicines, community pharmacies remain viable, and pharmacy retains its status as a vital healthcare profession.
Therapeutic Goods Administration
As you know, as Parliamentary Secretary for Health and Ageing, I am responsible for the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) which was established to safeguard and enhance the health of the Australian community through effective and timely regulation of therapeutic goods.Since 2009, the TGA has published Consumer Medicines Information (CMI) for prescription medicines.
While this provides consumers with another avenue to obtain access to information, the importance of the pharmacist cannot be overlooked in dispensing medications and in ensuring consumers are better informed about the products they are purchasing.
In recent years the TGA has come under quite intense public scrutiny and this has culminated in a number of reviews being undertaken.
I have in recent months been considering a comprehensive package of reforms to the TGA’s processes and operations which will provide pharmacists with greater information about the therapeutic products they are providing to the public.
It is anticipated that these reforms, when introduced, will assist the regulator in meeting the community's expectations of transparency and in doing so will enhance the public's trust in the safety and quality of therapeutic goods.
The Government appreciates the Guild’s actions to protect its members following the move by a major pharmaceutical manufacturer to directly deliver its products.
We know the hard work that Kos and his team have done to alert us to the problems arising from the change.
The rapid response from the company to improve their delivery system arose directly because of this body of work and your strong, well-researched representations to the Minister.
Another example of the constructive relationship between Government and the Guild has been the recent amendment of the pharmacy location rules.
These are a significant shift in the way pharmacies are approved to supply PBS medicines, the biggest change to the location rules since they were first introduced over 20 years ago.
The rules continue to support the establishment of pharmacies in locations that are accessible by the community, including in rural areas.
The new rules also allow more pharmacists to establish a new pharmacy without incurring the cost of relocating an existing pharmacy.
The changes also provide greater flexibility for pharmacy services to be a part of our health reforms, by co-locating with primary health services in emerging health care delivery models, such as GP Super Clinics.
The Government commends the Guild for recognising the need for such changes, and for the collaborative approach it has taken to develop the new rules.
Through all of this change, to keep the pharmacist as a solid bridge for patients means keeping your professional reputation as your most valuable asset.
Australians place their trust in pharmacists every day.
They expect pharmacists to operate in a professional, independent manner – a reputation which has, justifiably, been built up over generations.
While the Government recognises the need for the Guild to be always investigating new revenue streams on behalf of their members, we must ensure the pharmacist’s role always remains that of a health professional first, and that industry self regulatory mechanisms are adhered to.
The future of pharmacy: e-health
In line with the Medicare Local rollout, another of the key underlying reforms to coordinate patient care is the development of e-health.We are proceeding with the creation of a national system of private, personally controlled e-health records for all Australians who want them.
Of course pharmacists have been at the forefront of e-health and you have already seen huge efficiency gains from using health IT.
But we face the challenge of encouraging prescribers and dispensers of medicines to see the benefits of electronic prescribing.
Under the Fifth Community Pharmacy Agreement, we have allocated $75.5 million for electronic prescription fees for each eligible electronic prescription dispensed under the PBS and the RPBS.
The aim of the fee is to offset some of the costs which pharmacies incur through providers’ charges for downloading each electronic prescription.
We know the Electronic Prescription Fee has been under-utilised.
We need to work together to make this component of e-health viable and successful.
This is vital to drive dispensing into the 21st century.
That’s why the Government is working with the Guild and other stakeholders to develop strategies to enable greater uptake, and we welcome these and any other constructive proposals.
The role of the pharmacy and pharmacist runs deep in the Australian community.
The 5th Community Pharmacy Agreement recognises and supports your role delivering fundamental healthcare reform in this country.
The Government will continue to stand with the Guild and pharmacists in the future to overcome the challenges of delivering vital medicines and healthcare support to the Australian community.
ENDS
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