Pharmacists say PBS changes save Government and consumers

The President of the Pharmacy Guild of Australia, Kos Sclavos, says reforms to the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS), which come into effect on 1 August, will help consumers save.

Generic medicines will be promoted as a safe, effective and quality alternative to branded pharmaceuticals.

Australia has the lowest take-up of generic medicines in the western world and, with many medicines coming off patent, community pharmacy is working with the Government to increase the use of generics.

These initiatives will create an expected saving of $6 billion over 10 years for the Federal Government, according to the Guild,  which is twice the amount predicted by the Federal Government.

For consumers, 1 August will see a reduction in price on over 1,000 safety net medicines.

Decreases will range from 20 cents to $4.65 with an average decrease of over $2.00.

For the Government, there will be a 25% price drop for some 99 drugs, which are marketed under hundreds of brands.

“Community pharmacy warmly welcomes the increased transparency that the PBS Reforms will establish,” Mr Sclavos said.