Butler mulls ways to protect pharmacy sector

Health Minister Mark Butler says the government is looking at “other ways” to support regional pharmacies during the sector’s move to 60 day dispensing

​Health Minister Mark Butler says the government is looking at “other ways” to support regional pharmacies during the sector’s move to 60 day dispensing following internal concern in Labor

Health Minister Mark Butler says the government is looking at “other ways” to support regional pharmacies during the sector’s move to 60-day dispensing after internal concern in Labor that the policy may force rural chemists to shut down.

The commitment comes after The Australian revealed calls from Labor Senator Helen Polley who said “everything should be on the table” to protect smaller pharmacies from closure.

Labor MP Mike Freelander also called on the Albanese government to ensure pharmacies were better compensated under the policy.

The government’s budget move, which doubles the amount of medicine accessed from a single script, has been welcomed by GPs who say patients will save time and money. Pharmacy operators warn 60-day dispensing could trigger significant shortages and cause months of delays.

On Wednesday, Mr Butler pledged to support regional pharmacies to cope with the policy change, which will reduce the amount of funding businesses receive for selling medications.

He said Labor was doubling the amount of government funding given to rural pharmacies to stay open, but was investigating other ways to ensure businesses do not have to shut down.

“We have to make sure that particularly pharmacies in rural communities are supported through this process,” Mr Butler said. “Some of those smaller pharmacies that don’t have the sort of retail that you see in the major cities, aren’t selling as much perfume or other health care products. We said we’d double that allowance and we’re looking at other ways in which we can make sure that rural pharmacies are supported through this process.”

The dispensing policy has come under fire from pharmacists and inside Labor ranks over concerns that the government made the change without modelling its impact.

The Department of Health has contracted McKinsey and University of Technology Sydney to “support the department’s analysis” of the policy, after it was announced in April.

Senator Polley has been collecting data from Tasmanian pharmacies to present to the ­Department of Health about the policy’s impacts. The Tasmanian senator – who says she was not briefed before Labor announced the change – is worried her constituents could lose access to medicines.