Reduce patient costs and improve access to medicines and related services delivered by community pharmacies.
The Government will provide $1.3 billion over 5 years from 2022-23 and deliver savings of $1.3 billion over 4 years from 1 July 2023 to reduce patient costs and improve access to medicines and related services delivered by community pharmacies. Funding includes: * $654.9 million over 4 years from 2023-24 (and $168.4 million ongoing) for community pharmacy programs under the Seventh Community Pharmacy Agreement (7CPA) * $377.3 million over 4 years from 2023-24 (and $98.4 million ongoing) to make patient access more affordable under the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) Opioid Dependence Treatment program * $111.8 million over 4 years from 2023-24 (and $24.2 million ongoing) to provide electronic-prescription delivery infrastructure and services, including mandating the use of e-prescribing for high risk and high cost medicines subsidised under the PBS * $114.1 million over 5 years from 2022-23 (and $31.0 million ongoing) to subsidise community pharmacies to administer eligible National Immunisation Program vaccines * $79.5 million over 4 years from 2023-24 (and $19.9 million ongoing) to double the Regional Pharmacy Maintenance Allowance to ensure the ongoing viability of pharmacies due to reduced dispensing income * $10.1 million over 4 years from 2023-24 for the Therapeutic Goods Administration to assist medicine sponsors repurpose targeted medicines by expanding approval for their use in Australia. The Government will also achieve efficiencies of $1.3 billion over 4 years from 2023-24, including: * $1.2 billion over 5 years from 2022-23 (and $438.7 million ongoing) by allowing 2 months' worth of certain PBS medicines to be dispensed by pharmacies from 1 September 2023. Per year, per medicine, concession card holders may save up to $43.80 and general patients may save up to $180. * $73.5 million over 4 years from 2023-24 (and $3.6 million ongoing) by revising the estimated uptake and changing the medication management arrangements for residential aged care homes previously announced in the 2022-23 March Budget. Improved medication safety and quality use of medicines for residential aged care residents will be led by community pharmacy. This measure will also be partially offset by redirecting funding from the 2023-24 Budget measure titled Reinvesting in Health and Aged Care Programs. The savings from some medicines are impacted by revenue from rebates negotiated as part of purchase agreements. Details of the receipts for this measure are not for publication (nfp) due to commercial sensitivities.