Pharmacy's combat zones

摘要

The dramas surrounding the looming 25% 1 August price cut to F2T medicines has tested pharmacy's relationships with government, the Department of Health and Ageing and suppliers. This is at a time when the debate over how to implement Health Minister Nicola Roxon's plan to revolutionise the delivery of primary care has triggered internal disagreements between the Pharmacy Guild of Australia and the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia, and looming turf war broadsides from the Australian Medical Association. If you listen to some of pharmacy's elected officials, you might believe pharmacy's sky is about to fall in on itself. There's a lot of posturing going on and even though the issues pharmacy has to confront are serious and need careful stewardship, anyone who argues the profession is under serious attack has other agendas at play. But that's really not surprising if you know that there's been some heavy electioneering going on within the Guild and, to a lesser extent, the PSA.