Better pharmacy services

The Government and Pharmacy Guild of Australia have finalised the Fifth Community Pharmacy Agreement, which will provide better pharmacy services for consumers and a stronger role for pharmacy at the front line of health care.

The Pharmacy Agreement will ensure all Australians continue to have easy access to essential medicines under the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, by providing security and certainty for Australia’s network of 5,000 community pharmacies.

Key features and reforms under the Fifth Community Pharmacy Agreement will include:

• Medication-management programs, under which pharmacists provide education and support to patients on how to best use their medications and avoid medication errors. This will include medication reviews for consumers, including at home and in residential aged care, and specific support for patients with chronic conditions, such as type 2 diabetes and asthma.
• Support for pharmacists to provide dose administration aids to patients who experience difficulty remembering to use their medicines – preventing unnecessary adverse medication events.
• Safer prescriptions, through encouraging pharmacies to use electronic prescriptions.
• A new patient service charter that outlines the roles and responsibilities of the pharmacist and the pharmacy, and clearly identifies the level of patient care that can be expected from any pharmacy.
• Support for pharmacists to identify, resolve and document medicine-related issues experienced by patients. This will improve the health literacy of patients with regard to their medicines, and reduce the number of unnecessary adverse medication events.
• Simpler and safer dispensing processes in residential aged care, by eliminating the requirement for separate medication charts and prescriptions.
• Providing culturally-appropriate services to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, more support for pharmacies which provide medicines in bulk to the community controlled Aboriginal Health Services, and supporting the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander pharmacy workforce.

The Pharmacy Agreement will also continue the rules that determine where pharmacies can be located, and Community Service Obligation arrangements. These arrangements ensure all PBS medicines are made available within 24 hours, no matter where people live.