Page 50 - Retail Pharmacy November/Decemeber 2020

The March spike quickly dissipated, and April and May 2020 dispensing volumes were nine and 11 per cent lower, respectively, than they were during the same months in 2019. Again, while the network anticipates slower growth to be the case in January each year when PBS safety nets are reset, this was uncharted territory for the middle of the calendar year. OTC medicines and other critical products OTC medicine sales also spiked in March as patient concerns about supply of essentials were paramount. As expected, Covid-19 related goods such as personal protective equipment, masks and sanitiser were especially in great demand. A trusted healthcare and advice destination Community pharmacy continues to be very much the most accessible health destination for patients across all parts of Australia. The accessibility of community pharmacies as a healthcare destination during both the initial widespread and subsequent more contained waves of Covid-19 is evident in data on the number of patients visiting pharmacies, driven in part by the closure of or restricted access to GP services. Without community pharmacies being open and accessible, many of these patients would have visited emergency departments, putting additional strain on hospitals that were already stretched with pandemic-related care, restrictions and preparations. Community pharmacy’s essential and irreplaceable role in managing common ailments has never been so visible. GuildData shows, during both waves, equally large spikes of up to 30 per cent in certain weeks for the unique number of patients visiting pharmacies, relative to the same time last year. Chart 2 shows this increase in the number of visits to community pharmacies. Moreover, the ‘NAB Australian Consumer Health Survey 2020’ indicates that over the three months to September 2020, the most frequently visited health service in Australia was a pharmacy, with almost double the number of visits to a GP. Pharmacists were also rated the most accessible health service provider during this period. During this period of uncertainty, apart from community pharmacists attending to the clinical needs of their patients through dispensing and providing a range of valuable community pharmacy programs, they have assisted in many other ways. For example, survey research shows that, among other things, community pharmacists personally delivered medications, visited the sick in their homes, provided unpaid counselling, frequently worked extended hours to accommodate patient needs, and in some cases organised and personally provided transport to appointments for patients. Opportunities for long-term reforms This year highlights the important role community pharmacies can feasibly continue to play into 2021 and beyond. For example, total vaccinations administered by community pharmacies grew by 56 per cent in 2019-20 compared with the previous year, largely driven by growth in dTpa (24.5 per cent) and influenza (57.6 per cent) vaccinations. Community pharmacies are an accessible health destination for administering the Covid-19 vaccines when these become available, but also a wider range of regular vaccines. One critical reform for the benefit of patients is expansion of the PBS continued dispensing arrangements. Continued dispensing has been met by pent-up demand among patients, with GuildData showing a five-fold rise between March 2020 and April 2020, allowing patients the ongoing support they need in difficult circumstances. TO PAGE 50 ANNUAL REPORT 49 Prescriptions dispensed by month Chart 1: Prescriptions dispensed by community pharmacies by month, 2012 to 2020 Source: PBS Date of Supply Data Year on year change in number of patients (2020 vs 2019) Chart 2: Growth in number of patients visiting community pharmacies during Covid-19 Sources: GuildData (n = 397 pharmacies), www.covid19data.com.au RETAIL PHARMACY • NOV/DEC 2020