Pharmacy Review - Responses to the Interim Report

Everyone knows who makes its own rules. This particular company were the ones to start advertising prescription pricing about 10 years ago and created the confusion in the first place.

The dollar discount should not have been introduced in the first place, further creating "confusion".

No, loyalty should be encouraged to receive continuity of care! I like the opiates to be added to safety net. Many elderly customers are unable to use the internet. May be more appropriate in future generations. I feel there may be an avenue for pharmacies to unfairly target high volume patients if they have access to safety net data. The current way of ringing around to collate safety net data is adequate.

Current labelling arrangements are fine

Good idea

CMIs should be available in all medicine packs and also offered by Pharmacists at time of dispensing for new medicines. This should be part of counselling at as we speak

Patients should have face to face access to a pharmacist when receiving medicines. There should be an online record however so hospitals can access medication histories when being admitted to hospitals. "Online" should not be a priority in pharmacy and dispensing prescriptions due to a major risk in privacy breaches. Online hackers are prevalent as you could see with our experience with the recent online census.

Great idea. But can you guarantee security of private information?

We should not be encouraging the use of online Pharmacies!!! Unless patients are remote and live 100s of kms from a pharmacy and need a delivery, encourage the patient to build a relationship with a pharmacist/staff!! Pharmacies plentiful and easily accessible (thanks to our sensible location rules) with friendly, helpful and hopefully well trained staff. Pharmacies often do deliveries (like mine) If the patient is unable to get out of the house due to illness.

I think this is already being utilised by Ramsey Pharmacies. Inappropriate discharge with too many medicines. Often patients are discharged with their own medication, plus a whole duplication from the hospital, which the poor old community pharmacy is forced to pack for free without getting a dispense fee. They should encourage use of their own medicines and only supply new medicines only if necessary. A medication review should be implemented on discharge especially if there are many new medicines. I think 5-7 days supply is plenty of medicine to get in to see a GP, as the GP needs to be aware of the discharge/change of medication profile. Public hospitals are much more obliging as compared to private hospitals in my experience. A hospital script should be generated faxed/emailed and dispensed by the patient's preferred community pharmacy, and a patient profile provided to the patient's GP

I agree that all pharmacies should offer a core range of services. I don't believe some pharmacies should receive preference to new programs being offered because they are part of a banner group as this is unfair! We currently have a good program called Quality Care which ensure compliance to such services

Patients should have access to information about complimentary medicines. They can be dangerous in some situations if used in combination with certain prescription items. They should not be sold in vending machines. I think that is ridiculous. Just like I don't think many of products should be sold in supermarkets without professional advice or support services. Pharmacy is well trained, as well as health food stores to safely guide patients in using vitamins/complimentary medicines in conjunction with other prescription medicines if necessary. I have recently purchased a n eMIMs subscription that includes herbal interactions etc

Pharmacies should only sell products that have a therapeutic effect. However Practitioner vitamins should be sold behind the counter so patients receive appropriate counselling from a pharmacist/naturopath.

Disagree. If every business in Australia was to do it, then I think pharmacy should do it too! That is the most ridiculous suggestion I have heard. I would like to see Mr King show us his bank statement and see who is funding his review also!! I think any Independent body doing such a review should put forward how they are being paid before they can be considered Independent, so that no one within a sector is having any input into the outcome.

I think the current arrangements are fine. Price disclosure has led to an enormous saving to the government and has been adequate.

Absolutely ridiculous. Maybe $15 to $20 to cover all the free advice/counselling we give to consumers, free deliveries etc. We need to be paying pharmacists more for what they do, as they are a vital part of primary healthcare.

Good idea

Too confusing. Give an example

Question doesn't make sense. Give an example

Location Rules are adequate and keeping bullies like Chemist Warehouse under control.

Absolutely ridiculous! It looks as if Chemist Warehouse/ or similar Discounter has worded this question. Bullying tactics

Current location rules are adequate in most circumstances

I agree with monitoring any anomalies that arise, as that is important in any decision.

Location rules should be set so that a pharmacy can adequately cater for a set population (like it currently is). People should have a choice whether they want to go to a supermarket like pharmacy where nobody knows their name (eg big discounter), or a small independent pharmacy where everyone feels welcome and knows nearly everybody's name, and they are not just a number. I hear that quite often in my shop.

Totally and utterly false. Community Pharmacies are everywhere. There is a great variety and people can chose where they want to go quite easily.

I have no problems finding a pharmacy. The invention of google makes it quite easy to find one when you are not sure.

I finally agree on something that I have read. This is creating a monopoly and should not be allowed to happen

Yes

Pharmacist's need to sleep for health reasons

Don't see why there are different laws in each state. Every State should have the same laws.

I am all for Transparency. I want this review to have transparency as well

GST should be removed from all items over $1000 though.

Currently, we have a problem with out of stocks on certain lines that should be curtailed.

Current situation is fine. We should not be commenting on CSO arrangements.

Order the medicine in when the patients requires them. Simple. Its the Wholesalers responsibility to keep stock up of the expensive lines

Pricing continues to be more affordable with patients as price disclosure continues to take effect. Pharmacies should be able to price match to remain competitive in the market

Wholesalers should be involved in the process as well if they aren't already

The Consumer health forum does not know how to run a business and does not act to help pharmacy, but to hinder it. Too many chefs spoil the broth. The PSA however can work with the guild, as they are a pharmacy branch and support pharmacy workers.

Dose administration aids help reduce medication errors and is part of patient care. They should be subsidised accordingly

Places like chemist warehouse have misused services such as meds checks and cannot be trusted. Being part of PBS expenditure keeps a reign on misuse and abuse of funding streams.

Not informed to comment

Not informed to comment

Totally agree. Don't know why the rule was implemented in the first place

All compounding should be TGA approved, otherwise how can you claim that its safe to give to consumers?

We have too many issues with out of stocks in Australia. This would make it worse

This would cut jobs in Australia. We should be promoting jobs