Grace period extended for CTG Rx
THE Federal Government is extending the grace period for honouring prescrip ons for eligible pa ents through the Closing the Gap (CTG) Pharmaceu cal Benefits Scheme (PBS) Relief Program un l 31 Jan 2022.
The decision follows the introduc on of wide‐ranging IT changes to the program (PD 17 Jun), which le many Indigenous‐ iden fying pa ents who previously had years of access to the scheme out of the database, with pharmacists forced to deal with mul ple problems since the updates were introduced on 01 Jul.
With a significant number of eligible pa ents yet to be registered correctly, the Pharmacy Guild of Australia issued an alert to members this morning confirming that the grace period will con nue into the new year.
“The grace period will con nue to prevent CTG annotated PBS prescrip ons being rejected at the me of dispensing if the Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander person is not formally registered for the program through Services Australia,” the Guild said.
“It is impera ve while the registra on grace period is in effect for PBS Prescribers and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Prac oners to ensure eligible pa ents are correctly registered for the Program.
“Registra on must be done via Health Professional Online Services (HPOS) by these health professionals.
“PBS prescribers, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Prac oners, and pharmacists can confirm Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are registered for the Program via HPOS.
“If they are not, the system will indicate that the person is ‘inac ve’.
“Pharmacists may consider contac ng the prescriber or Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health prac oner on their behalf to ensure eligible pa ents will con nue to access CTG benefits aer 31 Jan 2022.”