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New Zealand:
Board keeps quiet on Pharmac submission
By
DAVID COSGRIFF Southland
Times, June 11, 2003 New Zealand - Chief Executive Gershu Paul said the submission would not be made public until after Pharmac had seen it. The
submission is among the items being discussed at tomorrow's board meeting
but it is in the public-excluded session. In
a written report, planning and funding manager Graeme Savage says the
board got more than 30 letters about the proposal. Pharmac
is to consider submissions at its meeting on June 26. About 3000
submissions were made by the May 30 deadline. Southland
pharmacists say the switch from one-month dispensing could see up to eight
pharmacies or depots close, most of them in rural areas. Pharmaceutical
Society president Bernie McKone, of Gore, said the proposal was not as
simple as it sounded. A
survey in one pharmacy revealed nine out of 10 patients would still have
to return to the pharmacy each month to collect repeats for some of their
medicines. Instead
of offering greater convenience, it was likely to cause confusion among
vulnerable patients such as the elderly, mental health patients and those
on multiple medicines' regimens. All
of those people needed greater levels of help with their medicines than
three-month dispensing would allow. The
plan was an exercise in cost-shifting not cost-saving, Mr McKone said. "This
proposal means people will no longer have their pharmacist helping them to
manage their medication each month. "This
will result in more doctors' visits as people try to sort out problems
with their medicines, increased hospitalisations from inappropriate use of
medicines and greater demand for residential care as elderly patients
struggle to maintain their independence with complicated medicine
regimens," he said. District
health boards would wear the costs, Mr McKone said. Clutha-Southland
MP and National Leader Bill English said the proposal did not make sense. Pharmacy
closures would be disastrous for rural towns. "Rural GPs are already
struggling under their workload," Mr English said. "The
help and advice provided to patients by pharmacists who see their patients
regularly is an important support for our GPs and nurses," he said. "It
will help nobody if the local pharmacist goes out of business." Copyright © 2002 Global
Action on Aging |
