The new CommBank Pharmacy Insights Report 2023 shows an overwhelming number of pharmacists will be charging for what were previously free services, cutting staff & trading hours, and believe the value of their pharmacy will fall over the next three years, all due to the introduction of the 60-day dispensing (60DD) policy. The Pharmacy Guild said the report revealed “disturbing figures”, where 79% of pharmacy owners are reviewing free services by wanting to charge for them, 62% are looking to reduce the number of pharmacy assistants, 48% are considering reducing the hours they are open, and 66% expect the value of their pharmacy to decline over the next three years. The report also referred to the UTS Community Pharmacy Barometer, which rated pharmacists’ confidence in their profession had plunged by more than half from 146.8 points last Nov to just 60.8 points in May, a month after the 60DD announcement (PD 14 Jul).

Guild President Trent Twomey says the new report supports the Guild’s repeated warnings that 60DD in its current form will leave both patients and their local community pharmacies worse off. ‘’This independent report confirms that patients will now be forced to pay for free pharmacy services under the Albanese Government’s 60DD policy,’’ Twomey said. ‘’For months we have been sounding the alarm on behalf of patients and pharmacists and, unfortunately, this CommBank report has again confirmed our fears.’’ The report follows a survey by the Guild of 1,000 pharmacists which showed 23% have already changed their trading hours and 250 jobs have been lost as a result of the current implementation of 60DD. The free services under review are blood pressure monitoring, dose administration aids such as webster packs for aged care facilities and home delivery of medicines. ‘’The Prime Minister and the Health Minister can no longer ignore the concerns of 6,000 community pharmacies and the many unintended consequences of 60DD,’’ Twomey added. Twomey referred to Federal Health Minister Mark Butler’s comments in Parliament in Jun when he said, “we want a viable community pharmacy sector’’. Twomey said, ‘’currently patients, aged care residents and pharmacists will suffer because the gov’t is refusing to genuinely engage and fix these problems. “All pharmacists want cheaper medicines for their patients and we are ready, willing and able to sit down with the gov’t and make sensible adjustments to the policy so patients, aged care residents and pharmacists aren’t negatively impacted,” he said. “The Guild wants to work with the gov’t and is not opposed to 60DD, but wants it introduced without damaging patient services, and threatening the viability of community pharmacies.”