Industry welcomes new Government
THE Australian pharmacy sector’s peak organisations have congratulated Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Labor’s success in last weekend’s Federal Election, at the same time urging the new Government to continue ongoing reforms and fulfil election promises.
Pharmacy Guild of Australia Acting National President, Nick Panayiaris, said the ALP had “long been a strong supporter of community pharmacy and recognises the important role that community pharmacists play in the healthcare sector”.
“It’s been a tough few years for the community pharmacy sector and the new Government needs to ensure these practices remain confident about their future so that in turn they can continue providing the services their communities depend on”.
Panayiaris said further measures needed to be introduced to allow pharmacists to work to their full scope of practice.
“At present they are underutilised, and by allowing them to provide the full range of services they are trained for will help ease pressure on doctors, hospitals and emergency departments while keeping communities healthier.”
The Guild is eagerly expecting Labor to follow through on its election promise to cut the general PBS co-payment to $30.
“Making medicines more affordable for all Australians is a priority and we will work closely with Health Minister designate Mark Butler to help implement this measure,” Panayiaris said.
“In addition, we will continue to look at ways and strongly advocate to improving medicine affordability for our patients...our patients and their wellbeing must come first.”
The Pharmaceutical Society of Australia (PSA) has echoed similar sentiments, congratulating Albanese as Australia’s new Prime Minister and highlighting the “strong and productive” longstanding relationship the Society has with the ALP’s health team.
PSA National President, Associate Professor Chris Freeman, said, “now is the time to ensure that access to health care remains universal, particularly for the most vulnerable of our population”.
“Consumers need subsidised access to care – regardless of the health setting or health professional they choose to seek care from,” he said.
Freeman highlighted the importance of ensuring fair access to influenza vaccines, stating, “consumers still face out of pocket expenses for the administration of the influenza vaccination under the National Immunisation Program (NIP) if delivered by their pharmacists, whilst this same service is subsidised if done at a general practice”.
“The Australian Labor Party has committed to working with PSA and other stakeholders to address this inequity in healthcare access.”
Freeman went on to say the PSA is “pleased that the ALP has already acknowledged the central role that pharmacists play in medication management in residential aged care facilities, and their commitment to implement the 2022-23 Budget measure to improve medicine safety by funding onsite aged care pharmacists”.
“PSA looks forward to working with the incoming ALP Health team on implementation of this commitment, which will also provide exciting new career opportunities for Australian pharmacist,” he said.