Comment

You can imagine the difficulties currently facing governments. Ministers must be dealing with a raft of incredible economic and social challenges on a daily basis. Against the backdrop, and for right or wrong, things like the 7CPA are probably struggling for bandwidth.

The word 'uncertainty' is being used to describe the extraordinary time we are living through with the first pandemic in a century. Yet not everything is 'uncertain'.

Alastair Furnival is a principal at the economic consulting practice, Evaluate. In a special comment, Mr Furnival discusses the added complexity of making and assessing economic choices in response to a pandemic.

More concession cards, higher prescription volume, more people qualifying for the safety net - and earlier - almost certainly means higher spending on the PBS.

In a special comment, Dr Brendan Shaw, the principal of Shawview Consulting, former CEO of MS and and assistant director-general of the IFPMA, says the PBS and Australian pharmaceutical policy have suffered some shocks in the past but nothing compares to COVID-19.

In an interview with BioPharmaDispatch yesterday, Medicines Australia chief executive Liz de Somer made the following point, "It is a time for sensitivity and our industry needs to communicate with each other and externally mindful of the extent of this crisis and how it is very seriously impacting millions of people."

Governments have decided they will pay any price in the fight against COVID-19 while the pharmaceutical sector is already grappling with supply. Nobody should expect the PBS in 2021, 2022 or beyond to look like it does in 2020 - and that is before you even consider the long-term budgetary impact of the shock about to hit the economy.

Have we ever been in a situation where pharmacists are reporting incidents of personal threats and abuse and the pressure on medicines supply is the subject of daily discussion?

The real risk is that officials use the budget response to justify a move to extreme measures such as tendering, an approach some key influencers are already advocating.

It is hard to avoid the ironic observation the publisher has obtained more information on the PBAC Executive from an agency unrelated to its operation and the Department of Health. The documents also reveal a key submission to the Remuneration Tribunal contained statements about the industry ranging from incorrect to backhanded compliment.

Some of the pharmaceutical industry's most outspoken critics participated in a workshop in Sydney yesterday for what, judging by the agenda, was probably a very one-sided conversation.

Kim Brotherson is the managing director of the Perth-based Pharmacy 777 banner group that has a network of over 60 community pharmacies. In a special comment, he shares his thoughts on the Seventh Community Pharmacy Agreement and his vision for the profession.