Camperdown pharmacist fear medication reform will lead to 'astronomical' shortages

Health Minister Mark Butler last month said a 60-day supply of 320 medications, rather than the current 30-day supply, would be made available from September.

He said the changes would effectively halve the cost of medications treating chronic conditions such as heart disease, cholesterol, Crohn's disease and hypertension.

But Sarah Venn and Sarah Baker, who own Camperdown Pharmacy and The Little Pharmacy & Shoe Shop, said the changes would decrease regional patients' access to healthcare.

"To implement something like this so quickly, you have to get all of these medicines into Australia. The whole supply chain is not cracked up for 300-plus medicines and the shortages will be gigantic," Ms Venn said.

She said there were already about 400 medications listed as being in short supply on the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) website.

"We already spend hours each week trying to ensure our pharmacy has enough medication for our customers," Ms Venn said.

"Sixty-day dispensing means there could be astronomical shortages for things like anti-depressants, medications for diabetes, and lowering blood pressure and cholesterol."

Ms Venn said keeping larger quantities of medications at home could also cause confusion and was a risk to "everyone, especially children".

"Accidental overdoses can lead to hospital admissions and we don't want to be part of that problem," she said.

"Sometimes a certain medication can be a trial and you might get 60 days worth of medication and then no longer need it, further adding to the shortage."

Ms Baker said the proposed changes would also inevitably reduce revenue to pharmacies.

"A cut to healthcare is the last thing we need in country healthcare and will lead to an increase in costs to services pharmacies provide for free or at a reduced cost, like home delivery, blood pressure management, vaccinations and services to nursing homes," she said.

"It will also result in job losses unfortunately."

The health minister has denied the changes would affect medication supply, stating only seven of the proposed medications to be listed had any TGA supply issues. Doctors will be free to decide if they write a two-month script or not.

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