” I have reached agreement with the PSA and Pharmacy Guild of Australia to allow Aboriginal health services to employ pharmacists if there were local areas problems in accessing pharmacy services. “
The Federal government is moving to give certainty to community pharmacy over location rules, Health Minister Greg Hunt said.
Rural and Indigenous health advocacy through the infrastructure of community pharmacy
” The standard of health care for rural areas should be equal to the standards available in metropolitan areas. The Pharmacy Guild of Australia (the Guild) is guided by the principle that all Australians have a right to equity and access to community pharmacy services.
The Guild represents pharmacists who are the proprietors of community pharmacies. Approximately 20% of the total 5,350 community pharmacies across Australia are located within Categories 2-6 of the Pharmacy Access/Remoteness Index of Australia (PhARIA). “
Speaking at PSA17 in Sydney today, Mr Hunt announced a raft of initiatives which he says will exemplify the “vital role” the profession plays in primary health care.
A key announcement is that the government will soon introduce legislation to remove the existing sunset clause on pharmacy location rules, a move that drew applause from the floor.
Mr Hunt said feedback from pharmacy owners on location rules was that:
“The threat of taking location rules away was a threat to their very existence” and had prompted the government to action.
Mr Hunt also announced he had reached agreement with the PSA and Pharmacy Guild of Australia to allow Aboriginal health services to employ pharmacists if there were local areas problems in accessing pharmacy services.
The Minister also provided details on recent 6CPA pharmacy trial announcements around asthma management and ensuring culture-specific medicine reviews in indigenous communities.
Funding would be provided for a pharmacist and consumer awareness campaign around biosimilar medicines, he also announced.