Eight month rollover important opportunity for sector

MEDIA RELEASE

27 July 2011

Eight month rollover important opportunity for sector

The rollover of the pharmacy services contract was a key focus of the Community pharmacy Leaders Forum (CPLF) today.

“The rollover of the existing contract gives the DHBs and the sector time to make changes to the government-funded pharmacy services so that they are driven by quality and patient benefits rather than volume,” said CPLF chair, Elizabeth Plant today. “It also gives the primary health sector the opportunity to sort out the problem that has developed with the overuse of daily and weekly close control.”

At the CPLF meeting the Guild and the Society committed to assisting their members to identify and address issues of overuse of daily and weekly close control that may have developed in their own pharmacy. Both organisations will promote the issue to members in their routine communications and will also offer advice to individuals. CPLF sees this as an opportunity for individual pharmacies to work with their own DHBs and PHOs to sort out a local solution.

”Peer review and support is a significant part of ensuring the correct application of close control,” said Ms Plant. “Pharmacists are well placed to assist their own colleagues to identify good pharmacy practice in this area. We all have a shared interest in getting this right and a professional responsibility to do so.”

Ends

Media contact:
Elizabeth Plant (Chair) Pharmaceutical Society 027 244 2826
Annabel Young Pharmacy Guild of NZ Inc 027 440 9160
Richard Townley Pharmaceutical Society 04 802 0037
Alan Wham Pharmacy Brands Limited 027 582 4838

Notes:

• The Community Pharmacy Leaders Forum brings together representatives from the Pharmacy Guild of New Zealand, the Pharmaceutical Society of New Zealand, Life Pharmacy, Radius Pharmacy, Pharmacybrands and the Canterbury Community Pharmacy Group.
• The CPLF is a forum in which the participants seek to reconcile the views expressed by the representative bodies with respect to community pharmacy in New Zealand.
• The Society is recognised as the lead organisation for service development, while the Guild is the lead organisation for the Pharmacy Services Agreement.