On course for recovery

By Suzanne Greenwood, Executive Director

The Federal Budget this year has confirmed that the Government’s sights are firmly set on ensuring the fastest – and fullest – economic recovery for Australia from the COVID-19 pandemic.

To achieve this, the Government is spending up in a big way and quite determinedly moving from its previous  mantra of ‘back in the black‘ to one where red ink is nothing to be ashamed of.

One of the items in the Budget that is of great importance to community pharmacies and their patients is the recognition of the role community pharmacy must play in the COVID-19 vaccination rollout. This is reflected in $35.8 million being allocated for a temporary community pharmacy program which will use the “national network of world-class community pharmacies” to administer vaccines to patients in Phase 2 and Phase 3 of the rollout. How pleasing it was to see this and to see our members recognised in official Government documents as a “national network of world-class community pharmacies”.

Among the spending initiatives in the Budget are items that will help community pharmacies as small businesses while also addressing specific concerns for regional, rural and remote patients.

There is a big focus on programs for women including an outlay of just under $354 million over four years for screening services, mental health programs and other initiatives to improve health services around Australia for all women and girls.

I was very pleased to see this included in the Budget as it has a special significance for the community pharmacy sector which boasts a workforce of more than 60 per cent women. And we can expect this percentage to grow with the latest data showing some two thirds of pharmacy graduates being women. Quite simply the Budget focus on women is long overdue and at the Guild we support it wholeheartedly.

The Government has also recognised the needs of regional, rural and remote patients through new expenditure which I hope sees a flow-on into initiatives for the community pharmacies which are such an integral part of the health, economic and community environment in these locations. Anything that can be done to help improve the health outcomes of these communities is a very positive step.

The plight of our aged care population has at long last been addressed through $17.7 billion in programs which is an important recognition of this neglected sector.

As welcome as this expenditure is, it is disappointing that a Guild proposal to help at-home aged patients was overlooked.  Our proposal was for the Government to commit to greater funding for pharmacists to supply dose administration aids to ageing patients who are able to stay at home. This is important to help ensure medication adherence for these vulnerable patients and we are disappointed this has not been factored into the aged care package at this stage. We will, however, continue to work with the Government on this very worthwhile proposal.

On the business side of things, the allocation of $120 million to help reduce the regulatory burden for business interactions with government will be welcomed by our members.  As small businesses, the burden of dealing with government can be a very heavy and time-consuming one for community pharmacies and anything which makes these interactions easier, and frees pharmacists to spend more time with patients, is indeed a positive step.

My Health Record seems to have been forgotten somewhat during the COVID-19 crisis, so it was good to see $421 million being set aside to improve the system and expand digital ID systems. The evolution of digital operating and prescribing systems in community pharmacy is continuing and any improvement in the access and workability of My Health Record is a very positive move.

The Budget package also includes some $25 million to support small and medium enterprises expand their digital capability so it seems odd that a very affordable and functional suggestion to help pharmacies improve patient safety and minimise medication errors through improved digital health infrastructure was ignored.

The common sense proposal for a one-off payment of $1500 for each pharmacy would have helped these small businesses implement some of the change management requirements needed to prepare and support consumers with access to electronic prescriptions which are pivotal to the digital revolution in health.

This initiative also would enable pharmacies to work more efficiently and effectively with local GPs to best support their patient’s digital health journey, whether it be remote or accessed from within the four walls of the patient’s GP or community pharmacy. As such we will continue to pursue this as a sensible and very worthwhile addition in the suite of digital tools.

Another area of help for vulnerable patients which was overlooked was the Guild’s proposal to address the issue of Australians who need a nationally consistent and affordable Opioid Replacement Therapy program. The Guild’s pre-Budget proposal provided the Government with a practical and affordable option to increase access to these help for these patients through better use of the community pharmacy network

However, the Government has provided $3.9 million to continue the Take Home Naloxone (THN) pilot program for a further 12 months, providing medication which can temporarily reverse an opioid overdose or adverse reaction to at-risk Australians is welcomed.

• Access the Budget papers
• Access the Department of Health’s Budget package