Final 60-day dispensing medicines revealed

The Federal Government has released its third and final addition of medicines available for 60-day prescriptions, with around 100 extra now on the list.
 
As of 1 September, the new medications include treatments for asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), acne, anxiety disorders, constipation, depression, gastro-oesophageal reflux disease (GORD), glaucoma, dry eyes, and Parkinson’s disease.
 
A full list of eligible medications, which now sits at around 300, is available on the Department of Health and Aged Care website.
 
RACGP President Dr Nicole Higgins welcomed the additions and the cost-of-living relief they bring with them, saying that any initial concerns about 60-day prescribing have been allayed one year into the program.
 
‘The sky hasn’t fallen in with 60-day dispensing, it has been business as usual,’ she told newsGP.
 
‘The biggest risk is people stopping their medication because they’ve run out or are unable to afford it.
 
‘GPs have got the flexibility to write a 30 or a 60-day script depending on the needs of their patients, and medication monitoring is no different to what we already do.’
 
Dr Higgins said this dispensing of 60-day scripts remains at the GPs’ discretion, and there are several tools GPs have to ensure their patients’ healthcare needs are met, including chronic disease management plans and practices’ recall and reminder systems.
 
Sixty-day prescriptions were first introduced in September 2023 following a hard-fought battle which saw the RACGP join forces with the Australian Medical Association and the National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation to fight for change.
 
This included winning a fierce fight against the Pharmacy Guild of Australia, which ultimately ended in the proposed reforms passing the Federal Parliament.
 
Since then, more than 10 million of the 60-day scripts have been dispensed – at the same time as Australia’s cost-of-living crunch is tightening spending for many households.
 
Federal Health and Aged Care Minister Mark Butler says the initiative has saved Australians more than half a billion dollars since it began just one year ago.
 
‘No Australian should ever have to choose between buying medicines or paying bills,’ he said.
 
Asthma Australia’s Anthony Flynn says the inclusion of asthma in the 60-day Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme items is significant.
 
‘Australia has one of the highest rates of asthma in the developed world,’ he said.
 
‘60-day prescribing has the potential to help millions of Australians with asthma to control their condition.’
 
But others, including the National Asthma Council, are arguing for caution, with concerns that patients will miss out on a key opportunity for their GP to assess their asthma management.
 
RACGP Specific Interests Respiratory Medicine Chair Dr Kerry Hancock says that now scripts will last longer, the impetus is on GPs to put in place processes to ensure patients are still being regularly reviewed.
 
‘I would really advocate that we, as GPs, need to not be relying upon the patient coming in for review just because their prescriptions run out, but to have other processes in the practice to enable that formal, regular review situation,’ she said.
 
An information kit with full details of the initiative now available for prescribers.
 
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