7CPA falls short of CHF expectations

THE Seventh Community Pharmacy Agreement (7CPA) offers little for patients to cheer about, the Consumers’ Health Forum (CHF) believes.

Commenting on the finer details of the 7CPA, which were released last week - a week after the deal was signed by the Federal Government, the Pharmacy Guild of Australia and the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia (PSA) - CHF CEO, Leanne Wells, said the agreement was “well short of the ideal” the consumer lobby group had sought.

Wells said the CHF was disappointed not to have been invited to play a significant role in negotiations over the five-year deal between the Government and pharmacy owners.

“Pharmacies are the most common point of contact between consumers and the health system, yet the Government and the Guild have declined to accept a place for the consumers at negotiations for the agreement,” she said.

“For the first time, the agreement includes the PSA as a signatory, which is welcome broadening of input.

“The new agreement does include provision for the government to involve CHF in consultations, but this is well short of the ideal we sought.

“CHF has recommended reforms to place pharmacy on a more consumer-responsive basis including clearer information on medicine pricing and services offered as well as separating payments for professional services from the rest of the agreement.

“The response to these proposals has been minimal.

“Despite the repeated recommendations of Government inquiries and reviews, there has been no real governance reform.

“As a result there is little in this agreement - despite its central role in transactions with consumers that would support contemporary realities of consumer expectations and technological change.”

In its assessment of the 7CPA, the CHF said the agreement “does not provide a platform for any real reform of the community pharmacy sector” and “does little to integrate pharmacists into the primary health care system”.

However, Wells said one positive from the deal was the enhancements to the Closing the Gap initiatives.