My name's Christie Rodda. I'm a GP in Beechworth in North East Victoria, which is a small rural country town, and I've been up here for about 15 years practising . I think the introduction of 60-day prescriptions has been really important for some of those patients who find it quite difficult to get to the pharmacy and get to the practice. Many of my patients will live quite a distance from town. We have very little public transport facilities in rural areas, limited taxi services. Some of our patients are elderly and isolated, so for reducing the number of times they have to come in to collect prescriptions or visit the doctor, it can be very helpful. One of the other benefits for patient is reduced medication costs. They still receive the same amount of medication over the 12 months in half the amount of visits to the pharmacy. My patients tend to be delighted if they find out that their medication is eligible for 60-day prescribing, and I've had a discussion with them and thought that it's appropriate for them. They think it's fantastic. It means that they can have a little bit more confidence in knowing they've got a longer supply of medication, and that can be really important when we've got such pressure on appointments here at the clinic, and that's the case for a lot of general practices. So if patients are wondering if 60-day prescriptions are appropriate for them or would benefit them, I'd really encourage them to go and have a chat to their GP about it.
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