Pharmaceutical Society of Australia’s role in helping to reshape Australia’s health system was acknowledged by Federal Health Minister Mark Butler last week during his address at the PSA24.
“You are the steward of your profession, just as pharmacists are the stewards of medicine use,” he told the PSA.
Mr Butler noted that it was the third PSA Conference he had attended as Health Minister, and the only peak body annual conference he has attended every year in the role.
Evolving scope
Discussing recent achievements of the federal government and pharmacists, he highlighted major leaps forward in embedding the services of pharmacists in aged care.
“Getting the design of the Aged Care On-Site Pharmacist measure right took some time, and I’d like to thank Fei and the PSA team for their advocacy and advice on the development of the measure,” he said.
The program provides up to $138,000 a year for a full-time equivalent pharmacist on-site in a residential aged care home, to review medications regularly and provide advice on medicine prescribing and interactions.
“The $333 million program launched at the start of last month and is already seeing registrations for on-site pharmacists,” Mr Butler said.
He also spoke of changes on 1 January this year to expand the NIP to pharmacists, and have pharmacists paid the same rate that a doctor gets to administer a vaccine.
“Almost 3,800 pharmacies have administered NIP vaccines this year, and 4,000 have registered to do so,” he said.”
“The NIP is an uncapped program that will grow over time, as more vaccines are added, our population grows, and more Australians demand the lifesaving protection that a vaccine can give them.”
Mr Butler thanked the PSA for offering to engage with the Government in good faith on the creation of guidelines around the role of vaping in smoking cessation.
“As trusted health professionals, pharmacists are absolutely the right people to be having those conversations with people,” he said. “Because the fact is, you have already been having those conversations for years.”
He also announced an additional $1.39 million Government funding to the PSA, so that it can provide workshops, webinars and other education and training activities to support pharmacists in the lead up to the 1 October changes, which will see people over 18 able to purchase nicotine vapes directly from a pharmacy without a prescription.
Medicine affordability
The Government’s achievements in addressing medicine affordability were also discussed, with Mr Butler outlining “several waves of cheaper medicine”. These included slashing the maximum annual cost of medicines for pensioners and concession cardholders by up to 25% (July 2022), cuts to maximum PBS copayments (January 2023), 60 day prescription reforms (September 2023), and the expansion of the Closing the Gap PBS co-payment program (May 2024).
“We’ve also rolled out cheaper medicines policies that improve the health and hip pocket of vulnerable groups,” he said.
“Good for the health and hip pocket of patients, and good for the health of the nation.”
Looking ahead
Mr Butler also announced the launch of PSA’s Pharmacists in 2030 report – a successor document to the Pharmacists in 2023. He described the new report as “bolder and broader in its ambitions than” its predecessor.
“And so you should be more ambitious, because the coming period will see more change, not less for Australia’s pharmacists,” he said, noting he expects to receive Professor Mark Cormack’s independent Scope of Practice review in October.
“As we look for ways to support Australia’s pharmacists to provide more services, to more Australians, in more ways than you do now – we also need to ensure that we aren’t just asking pharmacists to do more with less.”
Challenges and opportunities
Mr Butler said the Australian health system is undergoing a time of great change – and with that comes challenge.
“Your organisation and your members will be asked to work in new ways and build new relationships as you provide new services to patients,” he said.
“Some services may be ones that you have long advocated for … while others may be things you once argued against.
“I urge you to rise to the challenge and lean into the change, because that is what patients need us all to do – practitioners, politicians, and peak bodies alike.
Mr Butler said he sees PSA playing a leading role in the development of future pharmacy programs, “as the stewards of your profession”.
“There is much to do to strengthen and modernise one of the world’s best healthcare systems to ensure it meets the needs of Australians for the next 40 years – as Medicare has done for the past 40,” he said.
“Change is rarely easy – it can challenge vested interests and take us outside our comfort zone. But there is a huge opportunity as well in the years ahead for pharmacists.”
