A historic moment for pharmacy

Wow, what a month for pharmacy.

May got off to a roaring start when health minister Ayesha Verrall announced the rollout of a minor-ailments scheme for pharmacy, intended to ease pressure on the wider health system this winter.

Pharmacists have been funded to treat minor ailments before, but this has been piecemeal and dependent on their DHB region.

While the new scheme appears more widespread, enthusiasm at the announcement quickly turned to disappointment that the programme will only be available in certain regions.

Unfortunately, for now, it seems the scheme is a continuation of the ‘postcode’ health the previous DHB system was criticised for. But it is due to be reviewed at the end of winter. If it proves to be a success, it may well be the beginning of something bigger. Read more on page 10.

Then on Budget day – 18 May – minor ailments were overshadowed by major news that the Government would remove the $5 prescription fee from July.

To say this is a big deal for pharmacy is an understatement. I cannot count the articles Pharmacy Today has written over the years where pharmacists have voiced their issues over discounters absorbing the fee – a government tax – as a loss leader when smaller pharmacies could not do so.

I honestly did not expect this to happen; I was ready for a watereddown removal of the fee, targeting high-needs groups. But the Government went all the way and eliminated it for everyone.

After the news broke and my colleague Paulette Crowley and I started ringing our contacts for comment on this earthshaking announcement, it was truly moving to hear how overwhelmed everyone was.

After years of lobbying and advocacy from numerous groups, academics conducting painstaking research into the harmful effects of the fee and years of pharmacies closing due to competitors not playing by the same rules, the voice of pharmacy was finally listened to.

And that is a great thing.