Call to restrict antibiotic scripts
A PROPOSAL to restrict prescribing of antibiotics in primary care to tackle resistance has been floated in submissions to a Senate inquiry.
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PBS
The following articles have the tag PBS
RU-486 subsidy won’t increase abortions: govt
FEDERAL Health Minister Tanya Plibersek says if the government subsidised medical abortion on the PBS, it would not lead to more terminations.
Inadequate MBS rebates at fault for rising patient costs
DOCTORS have called for a “factual and credible” debate on the issue of patient out-of-pocket health expenses saying inadequate MBS rebates were the key factor in the continued rise in patient costs.
Boceprevir PBS listed from 1 April
AFTER a long campaign by groups lobbying for hepatitis C drug listings, a landmark treatment will become more affordable this weekend when it is listed on the PBS.
Government praised for PBS listing of hep C drugs
CONSUMER health groups have applauded the federal government for adding two landmark hepatitis C drugs to the PBS, but warned it must improve its subsidy system to make more expensive life-saving drugs accessible.
Scrap PBS authority system: AMA
THE AMA has called for the much maligned PBS authority prescriptions scheme to be axed once and for all, arguing it is little more than a bureaucratic hurdle.
Govt firm on chemo drug price drop
THE federal government is standing firm in the face of claims from pharmacists and private hospitals that changes to subsidies for chemotherapy drugs could result in cutbacks to services.
Funding cut for chemo drug causes alarm
INDEPENDENT senator Nick Xenophon is demanding the federal government reverse a decision to cut funding for a chemotherapy drug.
Subsidy refused: hep C patients to pay their way
PATIENTS with hepatitis will continue to be refused subsidised access to two potentially life-saving drugs – despite both carrying the endorsement of the Commonwealth’s own advisory committee – as the result of the federal government’s approval system for listing new drugs on the PBS.
Subsidy refused: hep C patients to pay their way
PATIENTS with hepatitis will continue to be refused subsidised access to two potentially life-saving drugs – despite both carrying the endorsement of the Commonwealth’s own advisory committee – as the result of the federal government’s approval system for listing new drugs on the PBS.
Long wait for non-PBS listed meds
PEOPLE in need of expensive medicines not listed on the PBS could be waiting years for financial relief after the federal government continued its stop-gap approval system for new products, stakeholders have warned.
Wait for non-PBS listed meds could take years
PEOPLE in need of expensive medicines not listed on the PBS could be waiting years for financial relief after the federal government continued its stop-gap approval system for new products, stakeholders have warned.
Rift widens over hep C meds PBS listing delay
THE rift between the federal government and the pharmaceuticals industry over delays putting Pharmaceuticals Benefits Advisory Committee (PBAC)-recommended products on the PBS could soon reopen, with warnings of a “vocal” campaign if two key treatments remain unlisted.
Should expensive cancer drugs be subsidised?
THE prospect of conquering cancer could be threatened if innovative but expensive drugs such as ipilimumab (Yervoy) fail to find a market, a melanoma expert says.
Raft of new medicines listed on PBS
HEALTH Minister Tanya Plibersek has announced the addition of 11 medicines to the PBS, including a locally developed treatment for cystic fibrosis
Statin discounting may go to conduct committee
THE Generic Medicines Industry Association (GMiA) has offered drug company Ranbaxy the opportunity to have a complaint against its aggressive discounting of its generic atorvastatin, Trovas, heard by its code of conduct committee.
Govt branded 'hypocritical' over revised PSR laws
Laws to retrospectively validate past PSR findings, extend the scope of the review to all MBS-claiming practitioners and “automatically” deem any breach of the 80-20 rule inappropriate practice were introduced to federal parliament this morning.
Retrospective PSR legislation introduced by Minister Plibersek
Laws to retrospectively validate past PSR findings, extend the scope of the review to all MBS-claiming practitioners and “automatically” deem any breach of the 80-20 rule inappropriate practice have been introduced to parliament this morning.
Boehringer Ingelheim fined $125,000 for conduct breach
Boehringer Ingelheim has been fined $125,000 and ordered to shut down its ‘Vote Against Stroke’ website, which highlighted the government’s deferral of a PBS listing for Pradaxa, by Medicines Australia’s code of conduct complaints committee.
GPs may be spared the pain of federal budget cuts
GPs can expect to be spared any major cuts in what is otherwise being billed as a tough federal budget as the government sticks to its target of achieving a surplus in the next financial year.
Questions voiced over fixed drug prices
A HEALTH economist has questioned why the federal government locks in drug prices with the pharmaceuticals industry for several years at a time, suggesting savings of up to $1 billion a year may be possible by paying market price.
GPs may be spared the pain of federal budget cuts
GPs can expect to be spared any major cuts in what is otherwise being billed as a tough federal budget as the government sticks to its target of achieving a surplus in the next financial year.
RACGP raises safety questions on new anticoagulants
THE RACGP has voiced concern over the speed of the rollout of new generation anticoagulants and the associated “pressure” for subsidy.
Call for MBS-PBS safety net merger in May Budget
THE federal government should combine the Medicare and PBS safety nets to ensure those who need help most get it, the AMA said today.
Navigating the MBS now easier as service unveiled
GPs concerned about attracting the ire of Medicare and the PSR by incorrectly interpreting MBS item descriptors will be able to rely on a recently unveiled advice service.
Govt and doctors blast pharmacists for running down stock
PHARMACISTS who are running down stock to manage PBS price reductions, due to take effect on 1 April, have come under fire from the government and doctors' groups who say the move will unnecessarily alarm patients.
Govt plan to boost PSR power causes division in the ranks
EXPERTS are divided over the prospect of the Professional Services Review (PSR) being given power to target corporate practices suspected of “coercing” GPs into inappropriate MBS claims, after the federal government agreed to consider lengthening the watchdog’s leash.
PSR legislation review could lead to PBS restrictions
GPs could be banned from prescribing specific drugs on the PBS, while PSR panels could include legally qualified representatives, after the federal government accepted all recommendations arising from last year’s senate inquiry into the Medicare watchdog.
Non-medical prescribing watchdog needed: UGPA
A UNITED General Practice Australia leaders' meeting in Canberra yesterday called for an existing national agency to be commissioned as a watchdog on non-medical prescribing.
More patients with osteoporosis can access subsidised medication
THOUSANDS more patients with osteoporosis will now qualify for subsidised treatment with alendronate sodium (Fosamax, MSD).
Exposing Medicare rorts
After six years as PSR director, Dr Tony Webber remains determined to eradicate Medicare abuse.
Pharmacists claiming for meds dispensed to dead patients
PHARMACISTS have been forced to defend claims they are charging the PBS to dispense medicines to dead patients, after a government crackdown found 170 pharmacies and pharmacists wrongly claimed almost $2 million in 2011.
PBS price cuts still not enough, doctors say
REDUCTIONS of up to 82% in the cost of about 170 PBS medications have been welcomed by generic medicine makers, but doctors’ groups say they still don’t go far enough.
Question mark over statins for low-risk patients
A RESEARCHER in evidence-based medicine is questioning the appropriateness of statins rising to become the most prescribed of all drugs on the PBS.
E-records legislation to be investigated
THE Senate will investigate new legislation intended to create Australia’s personally controlled e-health record (PCEHR) system after the two relevant bills were referred to the Senate Standing Committees on Community Affairs last week.
PSR appoints Bill Coote as permanent director
FORMER AMA secretary general and GPET CEO Dr Bill Coote has been appointed permanent director of the Professional Services Review (PSR) and will begin his three-year appointment on 14 November.
GPs urged to promote generics
GPs have been urged to promote generic medicines after a report said Australians now pay $1 billion a year in primary healthcare out-of-pocket charges and a quarter are choosing not to fill prescriptions because of the cost. The Australia Institute paper also called for prescription software that defaults to active ingredients rather than brand names, automation of the Medicare safety net, and mandated government-supplied referral forms with estimated costs of treatment and different provider options. The research, based on a survey of 1411 Australians and available Medicare data, said Australians – ...
Govt backdown on PBS listings
CONSUMER and pharmaceutical industry groups have welcomed a government backdown on PBS listings that will see 48 medicines, including all medicines deferred from listing in February, included on the scheme from 1 December. Prime Minister Julia Gillard announced the new listings this morning along with a promise from the government not to defer any drugs recommended for listing by the PBAC that would cost less than $10 million a year for the next 12 months. In return, the Consumers Health Forum, Generic Medicines Industry Association and Medicines Australia have agreed to work with ...
Senators call for U-turn on “ill-considered” PBS changes
A SENATE committee has urged an about-turn on the government’s changes to the listing of new medicines on the PBS, saying they were "profound and ill-considered". The Senate's finance and public administration references committee said in a report released yesterday that the way the scheme is now administered threatens to politicise the listing of life-saving medicines and puts the integrity of the entire scheme at risk. The findings come after the government announced in February it was deferring the listing of seven drugs, despite the fact the Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee (PBAC) had already approved them. ...
Don’t emulate NZ PBS model: experts
DOCTORS, consumers and pharmaceutical bodies are warning that Australia could follow New Zealand’s path to “one of the worst access rates to medicines in the industrialised world” if Cabinet continues to defer PBS listings for medicines, contrary to recommendations by the Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee (PBAC).
AMA to scrutinise red tape burden on family doctors
GPs have been given a chance to describe how the administrative burden of government paperwork is affecting their practice, with the AMA claiming family doctors are spending up to nine hours a week dealing with red tape. AMA president Dr Steve Hambleton said the association had launched an online survey to find out exactly how administrative tasks were impacting on individual GPs, practices and patients. “Research shows that family doctors are required to spend up to nine hours a week on government red tape,” he said. “Filling ...
PBS delays will cost Australia: AMA
AUSTRALIAN patients could suffer under the Federal Government's changes to the PBS, the AMA has warned. The association is urging the government to reverse its decision to delay new listings to the PBS – a decision it made in February because of budget constraints. Under the old system, medicines costing the government less than $10 million to subsidise got the go-ahead automatically, if approved by an independent expert committee. But Cabinet now gets to delay consideration of all new drugs regardless of whether they've received the tick from the Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee (PBAC). AMA ...
Government bows to pressure to list new medicines on the PBS
THE Federal Government has today caved under pressure from patient advocacy groups, announcing that 13 new medicines previously on hold after PBAC approval will now be listed on the PBS. Click here to see the 13 new medicines to be listed on the PBS Health Minister Nicola Roxon said additional listings and new indications for several other drugs would be available on the PBS from 1 September and cost the Government more than $200 million. Sixty groups, including the Consumers Health Forum, Diabetes Australia and Alzheimer's Australia, had been campaigning for the Government to ...
Anger rises over PBS deferral of bowel cancer drugs
INDEPENDENT Tasmanian MP Andrew Wilkie has added his voice to those calling for new bowel cancer treatment drugs to be listed on the PBS. Patients, doctors and health advocates are increasingly upset that the Gillard Government has deferred the listing of Erbitux and Xeloda, despite the fact they have been recommended for inclusion by an expert advisory committee. Mr Wilkie on Wednesday told Federal Parliament that Tasmanian grandmother Dorothy Thurley, who has had bowel cancer for eight years, desperately needed access to Erbitux. She is now too sick to work and has applied for a credit ...
Further PBS constraints predicted
INDUSTRY experts have warned bigger changes are ahead for the pharmaceutical industry, arguing the Federal Government’s decision to have Cabinet vet all PBAC recommendations to list medications on the PBS signals it is keen to pursue greater savings. Datamonitor healthcare analyst Erin Brady told last week’s Future of the PBS conference in Sydney that while the Government’s decision had come as a shock to the industry, it was simply the latest step in ongoing Government efforts to control the growing cost of the scheme. “Certainly it was a surprise [but] healthcare costs are growing enormously and for ...
Govt-industry summit to look at PBS listing issues
HEALTH Minister Nicola Roxon will meet representatives of the Consumers Health Forum, the AMA, Medicines Australia and the Generic Medicines Industry Association in Melbourne tomorrow to discuss Government delays in the listing of new medicines on the PBS. The summit talks follow recent incidences of medicines recommended by the Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee for Government subsidy being deferred by the Labor Cabinet, including treatments for lung disease, chronic pain, schizophrenia and enlarged prostate. A catch-up vaccine to prevent pneumococcal disease in young children was also delayed. Another seven new drugs recommended by the committee for PBS ...
Healthcare budget cuts expected
HEALTH economists have predicted heavy cuts to the PBS and MBS in next month’s federal budget as Prime Minister Julia Gillard again restated her government’s promise to deliver a budget surplus by 2013. The warnings follow the announcement of a number of measures designed to add more scrutiny to health spending. These have included the recent crackdown on the much maligned Chronic Disease Dental Scheme (CDDS), the deferral of PBS-listing for a number of drugs and the Government’s negotiations with the pathology industry to find further savings. The CDDS has been a Government target since revelations that ...
Medicare clamps down on fraudulent claims
GP CARE plans will continue to be targeted by Medicare’s National Compliance Program with its latest report revealing the key focus areas for monitoring in the coming year. According to the report, GP care plans, compliance with Practice Incentive Program (PIP) incentive payments, bulk billing incentive payments, and the monitoring of up-coding of procedural items are to be targeted by Medicare in the coming year. Ordering of diagnostic imaging and pathology tests are also to come under greater scrutiny following the PSR’s recent warning in its annual report of doctors inappropriately using tests for screening purposes. ...
PBS changes set to save $1.86 billion and improve patient access
PATIENTS are set to save up to $21 per script for medicines under looming reforms to the PBS. The National Health Amendment (Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme) Bill 2010, set to be debated in the Senate this week, is estimated to create $1.86 billion in PBS savings and improve consumer access to certain medications. Speaking at the National Press Club last week, Medicines Australia chairman Will Delaat said patients would benefit from improvements to PBS processes, which would also reduce the time it takes for a new medicine to be listed on the PBS. “The benefit for consumers ...
No slowdown in growing doctor shopper menace
DESPITE growing attention from the media, experts and practitioners, ‘doctor shopping’ is showing no signs of abating, with the latest Medicare Annual Report revealing the practice has increased by 8% in the last 12 months. According to the report, more than 26,900 calls weremade by doctors to the Pres-cription Shopping Information Service in 2009-10, an increase of more than 2000 calls on 2008-09 figures. The 24-hour advice line offers real-time information on patients that GPs suspect are doctor shoppers. More than 5100 patient reports were issued to doctors as part of the Medicare Prescription Shopping Program, alerting ...
Medicare audits planned for NP agreements
COLLABORATIVE arrangements between GPs and nurse practitioners (NPs) are set to be closely monitored by Medicare from next week to ensure compliance with new legislation. The arrangements, which require NPs to work in collaboration with doctors before they can have access to the MBS and PBS, will be scrutinised as part of a “risk identification” process, a Medicare spokesperson said. The results will be used to “inform any future targeted audit activity”. Medicare has also indicated it will grant NPs at least six months’ grace to understand the new system before it considers any targeted compliance audits ...
No slowdown in growing doctor shopper menace
DESPITE growing attention from the media, experts and practitioners, ‘doctor shopping’ is showing no signs of abating, with the latest Medicare Annual Report revealing the practice has increased by 8% in the last 12 months. According to the report, more than 26,900 calls were made by doctors to the Prescription Shopping Information Service in 2009-10, an increase of more than 2000 calls on 2008-09 figures. The 24-hour advice line offers real-time information on patients that GPs suspect are doctor shoppers. More than 5100 patient reports were issued to doctors as part of the Medicare Prescription Shopping ...
Extent of nurse practitioners' PBS access revealed
NURSE practitioners will be able to access PBS subsidies for almost all medicines listed on the general PBS, it has been revealed. According to MO sources, exactly what drugs each NP will be able to prescribe on the PBS will depend on their defined individual scope of practice – which they will be able to define themselves, based on their training and experience. It is understood NPs will only be able to access the PBS subsidies while working within the parameters of a collaborative arrangement with a GP or other medical professional. However, the AMA has ...
GPs win control over nurse access to MBS
GPs are now weighing up the opportunities that collaboration with nurse practitioners (NPs) may yield, following a directive from the Federal Government that NPs will need the consent of doctors before they treat patients on the MBS. The new collaborative arrangements, signed off by Federal Health Minister Nicola Roxon, are being hailed as a win for doctors’ groups who have lobbied hard to have such written agreements included. Many groups had previously voiced fears that without such collaborative agreements, independent NPs could lead to fragmentation of patient care.Four scenarios under which NPs can treat patient on the ...
More rheumatoid arthritis treatments listed on PBS
PATIENTS with rheumatoid arthritis will have access to more treatment options from 1 August, with a number of treatments becoming available under the PBS. The human monoclonal antibody golimumab (Simponi) is the first tumour necrosis factor (TNF) inhibitor to receive PBS approval for simultaneous listing for three indications: rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis and ankylosing spondylitis. Manufactured by Merck Sharp & Dohme Australia, golimumab will be available on the PBS as a 50 mg subcutaneous once-monthly injection. Also newly listed is certolizumab pegol (Cimzia), a novel PEGylated anti-TNF inhibitor, for the treatment of moderate to severe active ...
Streamlined authority medicine list to grow by 50
AN extra 50 PBS medicines are to be added to the streamlined authority list, under new measures announced today by the Gillard Government. Health Minister Nicola Roxon has announced that criteria for “authority required” medicines will be expanded, meaning doctors will no longer have to seek telephone or written approval from Medicare before prescribing a particular PBS medication. Medicines used to manage short-term conditions are expected to be on the list. The number of streamlined authority medicines is likely to increase from 110 to 160. The changes meant GPs would be able to spend more time ...
Practising with nurse practitioners
With expanded prescribing rights and access to the MBS coming up later this year for nurse practitioners, Amanda Sheppeard reports on some of the issues practices should consider.
Pharmacy-held data security questioned
QUESTIONS have been raised by the Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) over the security of patient data stored on pharmacy computer systems. In its audit of Medicare Australia’s administration of the PBS, the ANAO raised concerns that Medicare did not seek assurances from pharmacists that their systems adequately protected patient data. Pharmacists routinely store patient data as means of accessing PBS online claiming. The ANAO recommended that it would be “prudent” for Medicare and the Federal Health Department to explicitly address the issue, however this was rejected by both agencies. They argued it was not up to ...
Inhaled analgesic added to Doctor’s Bag supplies
THE analgesic methoxyflurane (Penthrox) has been added to the PBS Doctor’s Bag list. Manufactured by Medical Developments, methoxyflurane has been listed for emergency short-term analgesia for management of acute trauma and in brief procedures such as painful wound dressing. It is a non-opioid alternative to morphine and is easier to use than nitrous oxide, a National Prescribing Service (NPS) statement said. The inhaler’s ease of use allows patients, including children older than five years, to self-administer the drug under supervision. However, the NPS warned it is contraindicated in children aged five and younger, or in ...
GP nurse freedom preferable to NP prescribing
THE Federal Government should have given practice nurses greater freedom rather than granting MBS and PBS access to nurse practitioners, GP groups say. The AMA and RACGP have hit out at the Federal Government over its decision last month to give the go-ahead to nurse practitioners to claim benefits from the MBS and PBS. The GP groups say it should have instead given the green light to practice nurses to prescribe and order tests because their relationship with GPs is stronger. AMA vice-president and GP Dr Steve Hambleton said the association would have recommended that Australia ...
NPs will help ‘ease GPs’ workloads’
THE Federal Government’s landmark ruling to grant nurse practitioners access to the MBS and the PBS will open up a variety of opportunities for nurses and significantly ease GPs’ workloads, a Queensland GP argues. Dr Patrick Byrnes, who employed the state’s first nurse practitioner in general practice at his Alexandra Park Medical Centre in Bundaberg, has given the green light for nurses to take on more responsibility. And he has good reason to believe GPs will be glad of the help. Dr Byrnes said a 26-week trial of 210 patients enrolled in chronic disease management clinics at ...
Proposed law will boost Medicare watchdog’s power over doctors
THE Professional Services Review (PSR) may soon be able to request that doctors hand over pathology specimens relevant to its investigations, under proposed legislation revealed last week. Under proposed amendments to the Health Insurance Amendment (PSR) Bill, the Medicare watchdog will be given powers to subpoena any “relevant objects” pertaining to suspect inappropriate claims. These can include pathology specimens, pharmaceutical preparations or medical equipment. PSR director Dr Tony Webber said such requests could be made in cases where the watchdog had reason to believe doctors had falsely claimed higher rebates for malignant legion removal and excision procedures. ...
PBS listing imminent for first oral anticoagulant
PATIENTS undergoing total hip or knee replacement will now have access to the oral direct thrombin inhibitor dabigatran etexilate (Pradaxa) after it recently gained PBS listing. Scheduled for listing from 1 April, dabigatran will be the first oral direct thrombin inhibitor on the PBS. Dabigatran etexilate binds directly to both free and clot-bound thrombin, blocking its effect within the coagulation cascade and preventing thrombus formation. Recommended dosage is 220 mg once daily, taken as two capsules of 110 mg, following hip or knee replacement. Treatment can be tailored for patients with moderate renal impairment, who are at greater risk of adverse events, ...
Progress of nurse practitioner law slowed by Senate rejection
CONTROVERSIAL laws granting nurse practitioners MBS and PBS access have stalled in the Senate after the Bill was referred for review by a legislative committee for a second time. The most recent blockage of the Bill’s progress comes as laws to enact new powers allowing Medicare to access patient records for compliance audits were also held up while the Senate and House of Representatives negotiated fresh amendments. Both houses of Parliament are due to sit again next week, however as MO went to press neither Bill was listed for debate, meaning the Government may have ...
Nurse practitioner potential hindered by Govt delays
LACK of access to the MBS and the PBS coupled with delays in state-based authorisation processes for prescribing rights are hindering the potential of nurse practitioners, according to new research published in the Australian Health Review. However, the AMA is sceptical of the findings and called for continued debate on the potential role of nurse practitioners. Researchers surveying 202 authorised nurse practitioners found most were being under-utilised, with just 72% employed as nurse practitioners. The combined team of researchers, from Queensland University of Technology, Australian Catholic University, and Curtin and James Cook universities, recommended more efficient ...
Govt will mandate nurse practitioner teamwork
AFTER months of intense lobbying, the Government has bowed to GP pressure and amended proposed legislation to ensure nurse practitioners must work in collaborative partnerships with doctors. In what is being heralded as a win for the profession, Health Minister Nicola Roxon (pictured) last week announced the new stipulation would be built into legislation that will grant nurse practitioners access to the MBS and PBS from November 2010. However, the victory has been tempered by the news that legislation effectively handing politicians’ control of medical education and training standards has been passed by the Queensland Parliament, and ...
Funding the PBS machine
Will a new scheme forcing pharma companies to pay for PBS listings have a downside for patients, doctors and industry? Pamela Wilson takes a look. WITH one hand the Government giveth, with the other it taketh away. That’s how some health industry experts believe the new PBS cost-recovery plans will work. There’s widespread concern that this legislation, recently passed by Federal Parliament, will increase the cost of medications and impact on the availability of targeted, or orphan, drugs for Australian patients. It works like this: from January, pharmaceutical companies will have to pay ...
Roxon urges doctors to be mindful of costs
DOCTORS have hit back at comments made by Federal Health Minister Nicola Roxon that they need to re-examine their practice to ensure a cost-effective health system. Speaking at the Committee for Economic Development of Australia health reform forum in Sydney earlier this week, Ms Roxon said that while clinicians were broadly free to choose whichever clinical approach they felt most appropriate, they also had a responsibility to be mindful of the costs. She pointed to the low use of generic statins as one example of where clinicians could reconsider their practice. “Only some patients require more ...
Nurse-pharmacist plan to charge $32 consults
NURSE practitioners and pharmacists will join forces in a deal that will see nurse practitioners provide clinical consultations on pharmacy premises at the same price-point as a Level B consult. The announcement has alarmed doctors’ groups, who believe the move will further sideline GPs and fragment care. The Revive Clinic, which operates three privately billing nurse practitioner clinics, last week revealed a partnership with the Pharmacy Alliance Group, which allows alliance members to re-brand as a Healthetc pharmacy with a Revive Clinic on the premises. It comes as debate intensifies over draft legislation to grant nurse ...
Doctors reject pharmacists’ bid to treat patients
A NEW push by pharmacists to treat patients for minor ailments – and provide related medications on the PBS – has been criticised by doctors as an attempt to fulfil unwarranted medical ambitions. Speaking at the National Press Club last week, Pharmacy Guild president Kos Sclavos advocated the establishment of a minor ailments scheme, which would allow concession-card holders to visit their pharmacist to obtain PBS-subsidised medications for conditions such as coughs and colds and skin disorders. “Pharmacists are trained to do this already,” Mr Sclavos told MO . “They would have to spend more time ...
Doctors will shape nurse prescribing law
DOCTORS will have a direct role in influencing regulations that will underpin the “risky” legislation to grant nurse practitioners and midwives access to the MBS and PBS by the end of 2010. Speaking at a National Press Club address in Canberra last week, AMA president Dr Andrew Pesce said the association had been invited by the Prime Minister’s office to advise on implementation of the controversial measures. Despite welcoming the involvement, Dr Pesce reiterated past criticisms of the legislation – which is now before Parliament – saying it was not the answer to ongoing health workforce shortages. ...
Government’s PBS cost squeeze stifling drug innovation
NEXT time a patient asks you why a prescription medication isn’t on the PBS even though it’s been approved by the Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee, consider a few pertinent political facts. To get a product on the PBS after Federal Health Minister Nicola Roxon reversed her position on PBS cost recovery – something the Coalition has eschewed as an unnecessary and unjustifiable tax on the pharma industry – some companies may need to allocate more than $1 million based on the increasing rate of rejections and the recently announced PBAC crackdown on first-time submissions. The cost of ...
Pharmacists lobby for $1 billion federal funding
PHARMACISTS will be pushing for $1 billion in federal funding for pharmacy programs and services when negotiations for the Fifth Community Pharmacy Agreement commence later this year, though their requests may face stiff opposition from Health Minister Nicola Roxon. Under the current agreement, pharmacists received $500 million over five years to provide services such as home medication reviews. However, Pharmaceutical Society of Australia (PSA) vice-president Dr Shane Jackson (PhD) said funding needed to double if pharmacists were to be adequately paid for their work. “If we can establish [these activities] are improving outcomes for consumers and reducing ...
Clearer targets
Specialists and allied health workers may be about to feel the heat under plans to broaden the net of the Professional Services Review. Pamela Wilson reports. LIKE the outer rings of a bullseye, GPs have long been an easy mark for the Professional Services Review (PSR). But the red centre that is specialists – and, soon, allied health practitioners – is about to get a lot bigger. The vast majority of practitioners called into question by Medicare Australia and the PSR are GPs, simply because as a group their billing practices are easier to ...
Nurse scripts under PBS microscope
THE detail of the Federal Government’s push to allow nurse practitioners and midwives to prescribe medications on the PBS is to be fleshed out by the Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee (PBAC). According to a report in the e-newsletter, Pharma in Focus , the PBAC will advise the Government on which nurses should be permitted access to PBS rights, on which products and on how those products could be prescribed. Dr Brian Morton, AMA (NSW) president and national AMA therapeutics committee member, said the review would be useful, despite the fact that nurse practitioner and ...
Government’s glowing report card for health unjustified: GPs
THE Federal Government has given itself a “gratuitous” tick of approval for its management of health in a recently released mid-term progress report, doctor groups say. Among the list of top 50 achievements during the first 18 months in office, the Government listed the introduction of controversial health reform measures, including the signing of contracts for 15 of its promised 31 GP super clinics and the granting of PBS and MBS rights to nurse practitioners. Dr Brian Morton, deputy chair of the AMA council of general practice, said many of the Government’s health achievements lacked an evidence ...
Nurse practitioners: insurance status warning
AS the Government moves to open the MBS and PBS to nurse practitioners GPs have been warned to exercise diligence in checking the insurance and credentials of nurse practitioners they deal with. Under a $59.7 million federal Budget measure, nurse practitioners will be able to provide subsidised Medicare services and prescribe limited medications from November 2010. The move has been widely slated by GP groups, who believe the measure will fragment primary health care and put patient health at risk. Dr Paul Nisselle, manager of clinical risk management at Avant, said GPs had to ensure their ...
Don’t skimp on health funding
EXPERTS are warning the Rudd Government not to slash health funding in its efforts to ease pressure on the coming federal Budget, due this month. Commentators, including AMA president Dr Rosanna Capolingua, have expressed concern that with the economy sliding into recession, health is particularly vulnerable to Budget cuts. Dr Capolingua said private health insurance rebates and the Medicare safety net might be targeted and urged the Government not to “try to save money in the Budget off the back of Australians”. “Savings measures such as [these] would in fact reduce the confidence that Australians have ...
Financial crisis bites into patient prescription uptake
MEDICAL groups have voiced concerns that patients are cutting back on their prescription medications in the face of financial hardships. Recent research from the Menzies Centre for Health Policy demonstrated a direct correlation between financial stress and consumers’ failure to fill their prescription, and the National Prescribing Service is now urging patients to check with their GP before cutting back on any prescription medication use. AMA therapeutics committee chair Associate Professor John Gullotta said he had already had patients ask for his advice in prioritising their medications. “I am seeing an increasing number of patients not ...
GP prescribing vindicates authority streamlining
FEARS that lifting authority requirements for 200 drugs would lead to PBS budget blowouts and inappropriate prescribing have proven unfounded, with new data revealing GP prescribing activity for these drugs has remained static. On the strength of this evidence, the AMA is now calling for even more drugs to be similarly streamlined. Figures from the Streamlined Authority Monitoring Group show that since July last year, when authority requirements were dropped for 200 of the most commonly prescribed drugs on the list, there have been no significant growth trends in either the total script volume or PBS spending ...