Latest / 360 with Katie Woolf / The Pharmacy Guild’s NT Branch President Peter Hatswell says changes allowing two months supply on scripts will result in more medication shortages

Transcript

The Pharmacy Guild’s NT Branch President Peter Hatswell says changes allowing two months supply on scripts will result in more medication shortages · 360 with Katie Woolf

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  Speaker 1: We know that cost of living relief is on the
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  Speaker 1: way for millions of Australians with the federal government moving
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  Speaker 1: to slash the cost of prescription medicines. So the Health
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  Speaker 1: Minister Mark Butler made this announcement earlier this week, saying
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  Speaker 1: a person can double the amount of medicine they can
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  Speaker 1: collect on a single script from one month's supply to
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  Speaker 1: two months. The reform is going to be included in
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  Speaker 1: next month's budget, but it is going to affect prescriptions
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  Speaker 1: for around three hundred and twenty products treating chronic conditions
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  Speaker 1: such as cholesterol, heart disease and hypertension. But pharmacists are
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  Speaker 1: a bit concerned. They're race concerned, saying that the change
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  Speaker 1: does little to address a major shortage of medicines. And
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  Speaker 1: joining me on the line right now from the Pharmacy
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  Speaker 1: Guild of the Northern Territory, it is Peter Hatswell. Good
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  Speaker 1: morning to you, Peter, Good morning Katy, Thanks so much
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  Speaker 1: for your time this morning. Peter. What are these changes
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  Speaker 1: going to mean for Territorians from your perspective, Well.
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  Speaker 2: Space is going to mean on the outset it looks
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  Speaker 2: pretty good in that that brings down the cost of
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  Speaker 2: medication for those for those three hundred and twenty that
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  Speaker 2: are listed at assuming the doctor sees its appropriate, then
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  Speaker 2: they will drop by around about half because instead of
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  Speaker 2: getting one box or something every month, you'll get two
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  Speaker 2: boxes every two months. So initially it looks good, but
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  Speaker 2: it does come at a cost, and the cost is
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  Speaker 2: to pharmacy. Now that the money that is saved by
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  Speaker 2: the patient is only half of what the government saves
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  Speaker 2: in this process too, and so the overall effect of
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  Speaker 2: pharmacies is a loss of income three times that amount
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  Speaker 2: and can be quite devastating. And we'll get into the
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  Speaker 2: effect on supply chain as well.
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  Speaker 1: So you talk me through ferously. I guess the you
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  Speaker 1: know what it's going to mean to those pharmacies, particularly
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  Speaker 1: like you've got a lot of you know, mum and
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  Speaker 1: dad style pharmacies. I guess at different locations around the Northern.
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  Speaker 2: Territory exactly, there's an awful lot of Australia wide. The
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  Speaker 2: one that there's a lot of smaller pharmacies, the ones
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  Speaker 2: that are very patient focused and you know, have spent
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  Speaker 2: a long time and you know and even have handed
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  Speaker 2: it down or at least got in partners that have
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  Speaker 2: taken on the reins of these smaller pharmacies and there
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  Speaker 2: they're there for the community as part of the community,
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  Speaker 2: and they are going to be drastically affected by these changes.
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  Speaker 1: Now, then talk me through the shortages, because that's been
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  Speaker 1: another big issue that's been raised. What kind of shortages
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  Speaker 1: are we talking.
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  Speaker 2: At the moment. I think they have about four hundred
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  Speaker 2: medications that are listed on the TGA website as been
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  Speaker 2: in that are unavailable or very short supply. That's going
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  Speaker 2: to increase with these changes, at least initially. We're going
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  Speaker 2: to see a kind of dramatic increase in volumes as
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  Speaker 2: people go from the one month to two months, and
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  Speaker 2: that will a lot more shortages because there just isn't
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  Speaker 2: that much stock in sort of in storage that can
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  Speaker 2: take up the sort of the slack for those increases
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  Speaker 2: in volume. So we're going to see a lot more shortages.
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  Speaker 2: And I think that most people that are on these
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  Speaker 2: chronic means have probably encountered times when they can't get
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  Speaker 2: what they want straight away. But pharmacists have done a
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  Speaker 2: wonderful job of I guess, protecting and you know, handling
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  Speaker 2: these shortages and making sure that we get them as
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  Speaker 2: much as possible. But I think that that's going to
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  Speaker 2: be impossible to protect the people from these shortages, and
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  Speaker 2: they're going to go on for some time. And I'll
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  Speaker 2: explain why as well. The way. You know, look, it's
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  Speaker 2: human nature. It is uncertainty about your supply, then you're
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  Speaker 2: going to do what you can to protect yourself to
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  Speaker 2: from running out, particularly with these sort of chronic meds
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  Speaker 2: that are life So people are going to try and
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  Speaker 2: get extra where they can, and you know, with the
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  Speaker 2: idea that it's now half priced, they're going to see
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  Speaker 2: that as a huge intentive to try and stock up,
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  Speaker 2: and that is going to make the problem that much worse.
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  Speaker 1: Now, Peter, obviously you've raised those concerns. In the long
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  Speaker 1: run though, do you think it is going to be
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  Speaker 1: more convenient to territorians or do you think that it
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  Speaker 1: could be a good thing in the long run.
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  Speaker 2: But I think that well as far as the stock shortages,
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  Speaker 2: I believe that it will settle down and at least
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  Speaker 2: it will go to whatever the stock shortages currently are,
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  Speaker 2: so that if we have stock shortages that have nothing
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  Speaker 2: to do with volume, that's the way I'll end up being.
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  Speaker 2: So we'll certainly have issues, but not related to the
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  Speaker 2: sixty day. In the long term, I think that certainly,
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  Speaker 2: you know, there's that saving for people, but at what cost.
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  Speaker 2: You know, it could well be a sort of false
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  Speaker 2: economy if the pharmacy sector loses three point five billion
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  Speaker 2: dollars over the next four years, and then that triggers
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  Speaker 2: a whole bunch of measures within pharmacy that are again,
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  Speaker 2: you know, that don't work in the public interest. In
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  Speaker 2: order to survive well, people are going to end up
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  Speaker 2: having to spend more, either in time or money or
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  Speaker 2: both in trying to fulfill their needs or get care
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  Speaker 2: when they need it. You know, the pharmacy has always
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  Speaker 2: been the place where you can be assured of catching
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  Speaker 2: someone's attention that's a medical professional and find out some information.
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  Speaker 2: But if a pharmacy, in order to cover those losses,
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  Speaker 2: as to shorten their hours so they can't open Sundays anymore,
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  Speaker 2: or their late night opening hours, and now you know,
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  Speaker 2: they were terribly viable before and now that they're definitely
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  Speaker 2: not viable, then those pharmacies will have to close their
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  Speaker 2: doors and those people who turn up at those times
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  Speaker 2: won't be able to get that advice, and they might
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  Speaker 2: end up, you know, in accident. Emergency or having to
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  Speaker 2: drive around looking for another pharmacy and the cost and
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  Speaker 2: time associated with that, and it could come out badly,
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  Speaker 2: you know, in that kind of thing, and even the
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  Speaker 2: medication shortages if they go to get something in the pharmacists,
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  Speaker 2: I'm really sorry, we have none. We don't know when
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  Speaker 2: we're going to get it, which is going to have
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  Speaker 2: to go around and look for it. So at least
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  Speaker 2: during the first you know, however long it takes the
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  Speaker 2: settle and it could be a month, it could be
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  Speaker 2: six months, it could be years before it settles down,
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  Speaker 2: and in the meantime you're looking around for that alternate
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  Speaker 2: supply or back in your gp GP's office, you know,
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  Speaker 2: and whatever that cost, you know, because that's more than
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  Speaker 2: the populing rate now for most officers, and paying out
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  Speaker 2: forty dollars for a visit, well there goes all your
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  Speaker 2: savings right there. So you know, is this really a
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  Speaker 2: step forward or is it, you know, just trading fixing
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  Speaker 2: up one proby to trade it for another.
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  Speaker 1: Well, you've certainly given us something to think about there. Now.
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  Speaker 1: I do want to just ask you very quickly, is
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  Speaker 1: there how is the uptake of the flu going at
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  Speaker 1: this point?
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  Speaker 2: In time.
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  Speaker 1: We know that it is sort of peak flu season
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  Speaker 1: for the flu and many have been feeling quite ill.
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  Speaker 1: I guess of late we've spoken to the Health Department
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  Speaker 1: as well about those flu numbers already for this year.
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  Speaker 1: How are things going in terms of people taking up
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  Speaker 1: the flu vaccine.
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  Speaker 2: It is certainly it's getting better. I think it could
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  Speaker 2: be yet better. Again, I think that there's a lot
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  Speaker 2: of people that hearts feel ambivalent or not sure about
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  Speaker 2: whether they really need one, but rest assured that the
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  Speaker 2: flu is an issue and anybody who is vulnerable has
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  Speaker 2: comorbid it is they should really think about getting into
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  Speaker 2: their pharmacy and getting that flu vaccination as soon as possible.
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  Speaker 1: Well, Peter Hatswell, the branch president for the Northern Territory
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  Speaker 1: Pharmacy Guild, I really appreciate you having a chat with
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  Speaker 1: us this morning and just raising those concerns. Like I said,
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  Speaker 1: I think it gives people a little bit more to
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  Speaker 1: think about when it comes to these script changes.
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  Speaker 2: Yes, thank you so much.
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  Speaker 1: Thank you.