Ninety-two medicines have been confirmed for stage 1 of the 60-day dispensing (60DD) policy.
These 92 medicines include those used for a wide range of conditions, including:
- Cardiovascular disease.
- Crohn’s disease.
- Gout.
- Heart failure.
- High cholesterol.
- Hypertension.
- Osteoporosis.
- Ulcerative colitis.
The full list of medicines recommended for longer dispensing intervals will include more than 300 common medicines and will be implemented in three stages over 12 months, starting 1 September 2023.
When fully implemented, it’s said that at least 6 million Australians will halve their medicine costs and need fewer visits to the GP to get the medicines they use the most, easing the cost of living and putting millions back into the pockets of Australian patients.
“The Government is delivering cheaper medicines through 60-day dispensing for more than 6 million Australians. This will halve the cost of medicines for millions of Australians, including pensioners, who are living with a chronic condition,” says Mark Butler MP, Minister for Health and Aged Care.
It’s said that the decision to write a script with two months’ worth of medicine will be made by a patient’s GP or other prescriber and will be based on their professional clinical judgement. The option to prescribe a one-month supply remains.
According to a statement released by the Department of Health and Aged Care, the funds saved through the 60DD policy “will go back into pharmacy”.
It’s said that “more than $1.2 billion will be re-invested into expanded services such as vaccinations, medication safety, and support for opioid-dependent patients, and increased financial support to pharmacies in regional, rural and remote Australia”.
Furthermore, “community pharmacists will be financially supported to deliver more advanced clinical services, so they can play an even more central role in the healthcare of Australians”.
“Australian pharmacies already do much more than just dispense medicine and the Government is supporting our trusted pharmacists to play an even bigger role in the healthcare of Australians,” says Mr Butler.
“The Government continues to work with all parts of the pharmacy sector on the implementation of this policy.”
