Interview with NPSA Chair and Deputy Chair, July 2018
The Government designed the Community Service Obligation (CSO) to provide access to all PBS medicines for all citizens, whether they live in Bellevue Hill or Broken Hill.
But Australia’s medicine supply chain is under threat by a small number of companies looking to exploit loopholes in the system.
NPSA Directors Mark Hooper and Richard Vincent talk to PharmaDispatch about the Government’s CSO Review, the threat of exclusive-direct distribution and the future of medicine supply in Australia.
View the interview here.
Australian Pharmacy Professional Conference and Trade Exhibition Sessions
The 2017 Australian Pharmacy Professional Conference and Trade Exhibition (APP 2017) was attended by more then 6,500 attendees, 100 speakers and displayed 450 trade stands which made it the largest event to date. Below are two session which involved the NPSA:
Click here for Wholesaler Econonomics – Future implications for Pharmacy and Consumers Stephanie Newey, Partner, LEK Consulting.
Click here for State of the Industry Session.
NPSA Directors talk to PharmaDispatch about the evolving business model for pharmaceutical wholesaling and why the Government’s Review of Pharmacy Remuneration and Regulation is important for the future of the sector.
You can also watch this video in shorter sequences:
PART 1 of 5: How the business of pharmaceutical wholesaling has evolved over the years and a remuneration ‘tipping point’ is looming.
PART 2 of 5 The consequences to the medicines system if wholesaler remuneration is no longer sufficient, and what wholesalers have done to explain the problem.
PART 3 of 5 Why the pharmaceutical distribution system has worked so well in Australia.
PART 4 of 5 How the PBS has changed over time and what wholesalers recommend for a sustainable funding model.
PART 5 of 5 How changes to pharmaceutical wholesaling remuneration could be accommodated.
The Community Pharmacy Agreement is a critical part of Australia’s health care system that has worked to balance the growing number of medicines listed on the PBS with the funding needed to ensure their safe and secure delivery to pharmacies anywhere in Australia. We prepared a number of videos which illustrate the medicines supply chain:
- NPSA explains how the Community Pharmacy Agreement works – and what needs to change to keep the whole system healthy.
2. This video explains that the pharmacy supply chain is much more than simply moving products from point A to B. This video explores how the CSO wholesalers work to provide pharmacy with multiple building blocks – from financial and marketing support through to risk management – as well as the significant investment in capital costs and technology.
3. We have taken the lead on debate around further securing Australia’s supply chain. Under the theme of SMARTER SAFER SECURE, the NPSA highlights the importance of utilising new technology — such as radio frequency identification (RFID) – to bring about a revolutionary change in the way medicines are delivered throughout Australia, delivering further efficiency, product safety and traceability.