Monique Ryan (Kooyong, Independent) Share this | Hansard source

Australia's universal healthcare system is one of its greatest assets but last year the strengthening Medicare task force report identified a need for clear and simple value propositions for consumers, general practice and other primary care providers. To this end, I have been advocating for GPs to be able to prescribe medications for 12 months at a time, with two months supply, for medically stable patients with chronic medical conditions.

This change to the PBS schedule will decrease the need for routine GP and pharmacy visits for many Australians and it will reduce the cost of those medications by halving the dispensing costs. Allowing up to a year's supply of medications on a single prescription will save many patients at least one doctor visit a year, and the two-month supply option will save patients up to $180 per year per medication. Those savings will be particular valuable for pensioners and concession card holders were not helped by the government's recent reduction in PBS co-payments. Concession card holders will save more than $43 per year per medication.

We know that the out-of-pocket cost of medications is a key reason for many Australians delaying or failing to fill some of their prescriptions. The Office of Impact Analysis recently reported that one in five Australians aged 16 to 24 found prescription medications to be unaffordable. In 2021-22, because of cost concerns, more than 770,000 Australians delayed or didn't fill prescriptions. Those Australians were more often women. They were more likely to be young people and they were more likely to be affected by long-term health conditions.

The cost of medications is exacerbated by the increasing out-of-pocket cost of GP visits, which is on average $47.91 in Kooyong alone. Time spent away from work for those visits and for trips to the pharmacist impacts productivity. Amending PBS guidelines to increase the number of supplies that can be dispensed at each visit will reduce inconvenience to patients. It will cut the cost of dispensing for the patient and for the PBS and will increase the agency of patients in safely managing their own medication. Patients will benefit from a larger supply of medications in one go, with longer dispensing intervals and larger medicine pack sizes.

This change is sound policy. It's consistent with the most recent national medicines policy review and it's consistent with the policy of the Department of Health and Aged Care on the quality use of medications. It's supported by medical and consumer groups. Both the AMA and the Royal Australian College of GPs supported this change when it was proposed first in 2018 and subsequently.

Now, concerns have been expressed by community pharmacies regarding potential adverse impacts of this change. I'm fully supportive of it being rolled out in tranches to enable those pharmacies to adapt appropriately. It's important that we continue to look to the regions to ensure that those in rural settings have access to the same competitive prices for medications as those in metropolitan settings and that we ensure adequate supply of all medications for all Australians. Pharmacists will benefit from the expanded support for vaccine delivery in the recent budget. They should be appropriately supported for the work that they do, and we should continue to actively consider how we can safely increase their scope of practice.

It's time to cut the red tape. It's time to improve access to medications for all Australians. I'm really proud to have effectively advocated for this important change to pharmaceutical dispensing laws in Australia. It will reduce the need for routine GP visits, it will decrease pharmacy visits for repeat dispensing of medicines and it will lessen the cost of medicines for those people with longstanding medical conditions. We have to continuously critically review all aspects of our healthcare delivery to improve both cost effectiveness and quality of care in all parts of the system. I commend this motion to the House.

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