Thursday Island pharmacy warns PBS two-for-price-of-one scheme risks drug ... trends now
Some of Australia's most remote and vulnerable communities could be deprived of life-saving drugs because of a new federal government measure.
Pharmacist David Paulmert, who works in the Thursday Island Pharmacy that sits off the tip of Queensland's Cape York Peninsula at Australia's northernmost extremity, issued the dire warning about changes to the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS).
Under a measure announced in May's federal budget over 320 medicines subsidised under the PBS to keep them at a maximum cost of $30 will be handed out in 60-day rather than 30-day allotments as a 'two-for-the price-of-one' deal.
Mr Paulmert said this endangers the already depleted stocks his pharmacy sometimes ferries out by helicopter to the 15 Torres Strait islands and remote peninsula communities it serves.
'It is not unreasonable to say there could be deaths because of people unable to access their medicines,' he told Daily Mail Australia.
Pharmacists working on Thursday Island, off the northernmost tip of Queensland, visit the surrounding islands by helicopter
The particular concern is for people suffering from Type 2 diabetes, which Mr Paulmert was 'running rife' in the communities he serves.
'It's a terrible condition,' Mr Paulmert said.
'There are so many people who suffer from it up here'.
Pharmacies worldwide have been battling a shortage of Ozempic, a key drug for treating diabetes but which also has become a highly sought weight-loss aid in the US.
Mr Paulmert said his pharmacy had been dealing with shortages of that and other key antibiotics for the past few months.
A substitute pill was being given to diabetics but if that runs out Mr Paulmert said it would be 'a real headache'.
'Without treatment someone's diabetes can go out of control, they are more likely to get an infection, the worst consequence is death,' he said.
'Asking me to give two months' worth rather than one month of doses will mean suddenly some people are going to have way more than they need and a lot of people will have to go without because we can't get it,'
Thursday Island pharmacist David Paulmert has issued a dire warning that changes to the PBS could create shortages of life-saving medicines for remote chemists
This risk was heightened by his pharmacy's remote location, even though they attempted to stock up as much as they could.
'When something is ordered the wholesaler has to get it to a normal pharmacy in 24 hours but we generally don't get out stock for up to a week,' Mr Paulmert said.
'It feels like the remote and rural communities haven't been remembered with this policy. I don't think they've done a very good job of thinking about that kind of thing.'
Minister for Health Mark Butler told Daily Mail Australia that 'the pharmacy lobby is deliberately misleading consumers with a dishonest scare campaign'.
Medicine shortages will not be exacerbated due to this initiative, nor will it directly lead to medicines going into chronic shortage,' he said.
'The policy spaces out medicine buying and does not add to demand.
'Eligible Australians will buy the same amount of medicine overall, just with fewer trips to the pharmacy.'
The minister said pharmacies must notify the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA (TGA) when the supply of a medicine is not likely to meet the normal or projected consumer demand at any point during the next 6 months.
The TGA could then take a range of actions to assist, such as temporarily approving overseas substitute medicines to bolster supply.'
The minister said there had been no
