Page 30 - Retail Pharmacy November/Decemeber 2020

28 ANNUAL REPORT FROM PAGE 27 • GSK announced all modified-release paracetamol products, including Panadol Osteo, were reclassified from pharmacy medicine (Schedule 2) to pharmacy-only medicine (Schedule 3) effective from 1 June. • Sanofi’s Cablivi (caplacizumab) received approved from the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA), becoming the first targeted treatment for people diagnosed with the rare life-threatening autoimmune blood clotting disorder, acquired thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura. • Genetic testing for heritable mutations associated with familial hypercholesterolemia was listed on the MBS following an application by the Royal College of Pathologists of Australasia to the Medical Services Advisory Committee. • Amcal and Guardian Pharmacy announced the 2019 Pharmacy Award recipients and Hall of Fame inductees via virtual video conferencing, after the brands’ conference, scheduled to be held in March, was postponed due to Covid-19 restrictions. • Lucinda Kenny from Capital Chemist Calwell in the ACT was named the 2019 MIMS/Guild Intern of the Year. • The TGA was notified of shortages for multiple brands of metformin modified- release 500mg tablets (also known as extended-release or XR tablets). The TGA published a ‘serious shortage substitution’ notice. • Migraine medicines sumatriptan and zolmitriptan were downscheduled to S3 or pharmacist-only medicines. • US president Donald Trump made headlines when he told reporters at the White House that he’d been “taking hydroxychloroquine for a couple of weeks” despite warnings by health organisations that the drug “may cause irregular heartbeats and other cardiac trouble”. This prompted a frenzy of demand for the drug from desperate people, causing shortages as well as concerns from health experts of deadly side effects when using it incorrectly. • The World Health Organisation suspended a hydroxychloroquine trial amid concerns around its safety. • Less than a month after its launch by Australia’s health leaders, the Australian government’s COVIDSafe app reached six million downloads and was said to be helping state and territory public health officials automate and improve manual contact tracing of Covid-19. JULY PRAISE FOR 7CPA DELIVERY AFTER ‘HARD SLOG’ Announced just weeks before the Sixth Community Pharmacy Agreement was due to expire on 30 June, the 7CPA was signed against the backdrop of the pandemic, providing much-needed certainty to community pharmacies in Australia. “I take my hat off to the Health Department and the Minister \[Greg Hunt\] for the fact they actually found time to not only finalise the agreement, but also to sign off on an agreement that’s fair and reasonable,” Pharmacy Guild National President George Tambassis said. Key features of the 7CPA include: • Dispensing remuneration increased and indexed to underpin the dispensing of more than 200 million subsidised prescriptions each year for Australian patients. • Increased investment in regional, rural and remote areas through an increase in the Rural Pharmacy Maintenance Allowance. • New funding to enhance the ‘Closing the Gap’ PBS co-payment measure for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. • Expanding patient access to dose administration aids by doubling the base cap for pharmacies providing the service and providing uncapped access for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. • Maintaining the investment in medication management programs to support older Australians’ medication management and adherence. • Recognising improved health outcomes for Australians if the regulations around pharmacists administering vaccines are harmonised across Australia. Wholesalers win • The federal government committed an additional $92 million in funding through the Community Service Obligation and introduced a floor price to continue to support medicine supply through the wholesaler network over the next five years. The investment was necessary to help offset years of funding erosion and ongoing PBS reform and cost increases. Retail Pharmacy published its half-yearly report, focusing mainly on the impact the pandemic was having across the industry. A few of its highlights were: • In the week ending 2 May, 9.7 million items were scanned through Australian pharmacies. This equated to a 25 per cent decrease on the same week in 2019 and a 56 per cent decrease compared with the peak Covid-19 impacted week ending 21 March, when 21.9 million units were sold. • It appeared the decline had hit its lowest point after sales began to rally in previous weeks. • In the period since the outbreak of Covid-19 (19 January-2 May) more than 191 million units had been sold in pharmacies, equating to $2.34 billion in value. • Of the 26 consumer health categories with significant growth throughout peak weeks, 16 were in decline of varying degrees in the subsequent five weeks compared with the same five weeks in 2019. • These factors were determining if there would be any upside over the long term for a category: Ի Increasedconsumptionoruse. Hand sanitiser, vitamin C, immunity supplements, disinfectants, gloves, soaps, and thermometers all still exhibited growth in the five weeks to 2 May, post the Covid-19 peak. Ի Stockpiling. Suppliers of categories that involved high levels of stockpiling questioned whether there would be a corresponding decline resulting in no long-term uplift. Ի Cross-border influence. Circulation supplements showed strong growth throughout the peak Covid-19 weeks, of 58 per cent. This category had recently shown even further growth, of 117 per cent, as other categories had either tapered off or were in decline. Opportunities identified • Providing an online presence where RETAIL PHARMACY • NOV/DEC 2020