News

New Dispensing Limits Imposed

The Government has announced that it is now requiring community pharmacists to enforce new limits on dispensing and sales of prescription and over-the-counter medicines.

The two Pharmacy organisations in Australia underline the importance of protecting medicines access and outline the requirements for community pharmacists, which are as follows:

  • Pharmacists will be required to limit dispensing of certain prescription products to one months’ supply at the prescribed dose, and sales of certain over-the-counter medicines to a maximum of one unit per purchase.
  • In addition, pharmacists will be strongly encouraged to limit dispensing and sales of all other medicines to one months’ supply or one unit.

The organisation also highlight that the two over-the-counter medicines for which there has been particularly high demand will be subject to new controls on supply:

  • Salbutamol inhalers provided on an over-the-counter basis will be subject to new controls. Pharmacists will be required to confirm that supply is appropriate by confirmation of the patient’s diagnosis, label the product indicating to whom it has been dispensed and record the supply.
  • Pharmacists will be required to place paracetamol paediatric formulations behind the counter to assist in allocating supply equitably.
  • In addition, only one salbutamol or paracetamol paediatric product should be supplied per customer.

Click here to read the whole article.

Source: ajp.com.au/news/new-dispensing-limits-imposed/?utm_source=AJP+Daily&utm_campaign=9b39f2f4cc-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2020_03_19_06_54&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_cce9c58212-9b39f2f4cc-109985429, viewed 20 March 2020