665 pharmacies may close and 20,000 jobs could be lost due to the federal government’s proposed 60-day dispensing policy, a Griffith University report has found.
The policy will allow patients living with a chronic condition to be able to buy two months’ worth of common PBS-listed medicines for the price of a single prescription.
The report has also recommended the policy should be delayed and the community and pharmacy sector be properly consulted.
It found elderly people with chronic health conditions and regional Australians will suffer.
In addition to the closure of 665 pharmacies, a further 900 will be at risk of closing due to significant financial pressure the economic modelling suggested.
The report said to deal with these closures and cost pressures, pharmacies could cut opening hours, including on weekends and end free services for patients such as blood pressure monitoring, home delivery of medicines and diabetes and asthma programs.
The report also says the government’s policy would cut $4.5 billion from community pharmacies over four years.
Pharmacy Guild of Australia president Trent Twomey said the report is a wake up call to the government.
“You scratch the surface and look behind the positive headline, and you find only a small number of people benefit compared to millions of Australians who will either miss out, pay more, or have reduced services,” he said.
However, Health Minister Mark Butler said in parliament, this policy will help the hip-pockets of consumers.
“We are committed to the viability of the community pharmacy sector, which is why we have committed to fully reinvest all of the savings that we make here. The most substantial focus of us in designing that reinvestment package is the impact, particularly, on small rural pharmacies,” he said.
The proposed policy is due to begin on September 1.
