# E-DRUG: Australian PBS and first national medicines policy? **URL:** https://talk.edrugplus.org/t/e-drug-australian-pbs-and-first-national-medicines-policy/6882 **Category:** e-drug **Created:** [December 11, 1999, 10:17pm UTC](https://talk.edrugplus.org/t/e-drug-australian-pbs-and-first-national-medicines-policy/6882 "1999-12-11T22:17:06Z") **Posts on this page:** 1 **Page:** 1
### Author: ![peter.mansfield](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c77e96/32.png) [@peter.mansfield](https://talk.edrugplus.org/u/peter.mansfield) #### Post date: [December 11, 1999, 10:17pm UTC](https://talk.edrugplus.org/t/e-drug-australian-pbs-and-first-national-medicines-policy/6882/1 "1999-12-11T22:17:06Z")
E-drug: Australian PBS and first national medicines policy? --------------------------------------------- Friends, Below is the latest instalment from the Sydney Morning Herald on the Australian Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme. The reference to the launch of the first national medicines policy is a complete surprise to me. I thought we have had a national medicines policy for years. I disliked it and did offer to help the PHARM committee to re write it. It appears that the journalist was so unimpressed that he did not bother to report anything about the contents of the policy. If any e-drug participant knows anything about what is going on (apparently behind closed doors) would they please enlighten us? ---------------- [distributed as fair use. HH] Labels to reveal the real cost of drugs By MARK METHERELL in Canberra Prescribed medicines may be labelled with their actual cost to alert consumers to the real price of Australia's $3 billion pharmaceutical subsidies. The Parliamentary Secretary for Health and Aged Care, Senator Tambling, said yesterday he was attracted to the idea because the cost of prescriptions was often many times what consumers actually paid. ''That would make, I think, every customer well aware, if they are getting a $68 drug for $3.20, that they have just received a $64 subsidy,'' Senator Tambling said. But he denied it was a way of softening up the public for higher prices or cutting Federal subsidies. ''There is no intent at this stage, that I'm aware of anyway, to review the current arrangements,'' he said. His remarks come as the Government considers reviewing the management of the pharmaceutical benefits system. This follows pressure from the pharmaceutical industry over the comparatively low prices the Federal Government - as the monopoly buyer of drugs in Australia - pays to manufacturers. Senator Tambling said he would discuss the labelling scheme with the Pharmacy Guild as part of the review of the pharmacy agreement with the Commonwealth. It would be a relatively straightforward change, only requiring changes to pharmacists' computers. Sernator Tambling was speaking at the launch of Australia's first national medicines policy, aimed at ensuring optimum access to quality medicines, a rational funding system and a viable local medicine industry. He said the call to review decisions - by the Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee (PBAC) - to disallow subsidies for the anti-addiction drug Naltrexone and the impotence drug Viagra had created media interest which was ''doing the community a favour''. It focused attention on two ''huge issues'': the need for quality medicines and the appropriate level of government subsidy. Senator Tambling said he had completed a report on the processes and membership of the PBAC, which he had handed to the Health Minister, Dr Wooldridge . He would not reveal the findings of his report but said changes were likely in the long-term composition of the committee and how people were nominated. The chairman of the Australian Pharmaceutical Advisory Council, Professor Lloyd Sansom, said Australia was served extremely well by the pharmaceutical benefits process. While refinements in that process might be needed, he said, he strongly supported the current composition of highly qualified experts on the PBAC. regards, Peter Dr Peter Mansfield Director, MaLAM (Medical Lobby for Appropriate Marketing) peter.mansfield@flinders.edu.au www.camtech.net.au/malam PO Box 172 Daw Pk SA 5041 Australia ph/fax +61 8 83742245 -- Send mail for the `E-Drug' conference to `e-drug@usa.healthnet.org'. Mail administrative requests to `majordomo@usa.healthnet.org'. For additional assistance, send mail to: `owner-e-drug@usa.healthnet.org'.