The federal government received 87 applications to open new pharmacies in the months after the announcement of 60-day prescriptions– 50% more than were received in the same period the year prior.
The increase occurred despite warnings from lobby group the Pharmacy Guild, and from the federal opposition, that the dispensing changes may lead to pharmacy staff cuts, fee increases for services and hundreds of pharmacy closures.
The opposition leader, Peter Dutton, said at the time that while he supported cheaper medicines, taxpayers should bear the cost of the reforms. He also supported a Pharmacy Guild campaign opposing the reforms.
Dutton will deliver the keynote address on Friday at the annual Australian Pharmacy Professional conference, organised by the Pharmacy Guild, being held from 14-17 March on the Gold Coast.
Since 1 September, doctors have been issuing eligible patients with a 60-day prescription for 184 common medicines to treat ongoing health conditions such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, heart disease and osteoporosis. It means patients can fill two scripts for the price of one, halving the cost of many common medicines to the consumer.
The changes followed reports from the Australian Bureau of Statistics that almost 1 million Australians delayed or did not fill their medications in 2019-20 due to the time and cost involved in attending GP consults for repeat scripts, and the cost of medicines.
Changing the 30-day supply to 60 days was also a recommendation from clinical experts at the independent pharmaceutical benefits advisory committee in 2018 but the measure was not implemented by the former Coalition government.
Since the reforms were introduced, Australians have saved $11.7m on almost 3 million 60-day scripts issued between September and January, the latest available data shows.
The health minister, Mark Butler, told Guardian Australia that a further 100 medicines will become eligible on 1 September.
He said the latest available data shows the government received 87 new pharmacy applications between May 2023 and January 2024.
The government had reinvested the savings made from fewer dispensing fees paid to pharmacies for each script back into the industry. For example, the national immunisation program has been expanded so pharmacists now receive the same fee as a doctor for administering a vaccine.
Rural and regional pharmacies will also see upwards of $300,000 allocated towards them over the next four years through new and increased government payments.
Pharmacists also receive payments through the pharmaceutical benefits scheme for dispensing opioid dependency medicines.
“Together, these investments have already seen an extra $50m flow into pharmacies, over and above business as usual,” Butler said.
Dutton’s office told Guardian Australia key points from his keynote address at the Australian Pharmacy Professional Conference will not be shared before Friday.
The Pharmacy Guild did not respond to questions about any impact they had seen to pharmacies since the dispensing reforms were introduced.
Despite the data showing pharmacy losses had not eventuated, the government announced on Thursday that it had reached a non-binding draft agreement with the Guild over the Eighth Community Pharmacy Agreement, which will see pharmacists allocated an extra $3bn over the five year agreement term.
The agreement, which governs how pharmacies supply medicines subsidised by the government under the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, will commence from 1 July 2024 if finalised.
Guardian Australia asked Butler’s office for any further details about what specifically the additional $3bn will go towards, but did not receive a response.
The chief executive of the Consumers Health Forum (CHF), Dr Elizabeth Deveny, said the CHF had not heard from any consumers about their local pharmacy closing due to the 60-day dispensing reform.
“Our expectation is that the government is monitoring this so people, especially in rural and remote areas, have continued access to their valued community pharmacy,” she said.
However, Deveny said she had received feedback from consumers that they found some of the dispensing changes confusing.
“Many are confused by the eligibility rules or a lack of information from some pharmacists and GPs, especially in the early stages of the rollout, about how this was applied to patients,” she said.
“In particular, the amount of money saved by patients depends on whether their medicines are priced over or under the $31.60 general co-payment, and has led to some confusion about the ‘two-for-one’ offer.”
While she said the CHF and consumers broadly are supportive of any reform that reduces healthcare costs, there is a need for more education about how changes apply to them, and consultation throughout the entire reform process.
