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The
editor and writers for i2P E-Magazine wish to advise that this is
the last edition for 2003, and that the first edition for next year
will appear on February 1st, 2004
Enjoy your festive season with your families in a safe and peaceful
manner, and may your New Year resolutions take you to new heights. |
EDITORIAL
LETTERS
Article Title
Complaint
HIC
Issues
EVENTS
The
Pharmaceuticals Summit
Where
to from Now?
NEIL
JOHNSTON
A
Management Consultant Perspective
The
year 2003 has almost finished on a less than satisfactory note.
With little effort, the soft underbelly of pharmacy has been exposed,
and it is not a very pretty sight.
Of course there have been a number of band-aided steps taken, but how
much lead-time will that give us?
Review
2003 and the Crystal Ball
NEIL
JOHNSTON
Management
Consultant Perspective
The past 12 months
have been marked by a number of challenges being issued to pharmacy,
and 2004 looks as though it will become even more intense.
What is in the crystal ball?
Obviously an increase in the overall number of issues plus an expansion
of those covered.
Just revise some of the topics covered below, starting with the Priceline
entry into pharmacy, control of consultant pharmacists, U.K deregulation
(as a pointer for Australia), Government IT projects, corporatisation
as a pharmacy option, the Australian PBS becoming a bargaining tool
in the Free Trade Agreement with the US, the first press release of
Woolworths interest in pharmacy, RFID and the world future store and
the technology changes heralded for retailing, proving your identity
and the use of encrypted documents, being tired as a side effect of
community pharmacy, and a running commentary as major internal players
in pharmacy look to re-arrange the pie as Woolworths, Coles and a range
of global entrants line up for their piece of the action.
There will be no rest for an aging pharmacist proprietorship and unless
pharmacy looks to rapidly restructure, pharmacy assets will begin to
devalue as hostile strategies begin to bite.
Possibly the most serious underlying problem of insufficient qualified
pharmacists will begin to trigger some action.
It seems that everyone is just too busy to think past today, and those
charged with doing our thinking for us are just not doing it, because
to do the right thing will prejudice existing political structures.
Buckle up
and hang on for the rollercoaster ride in 2004!
Little
Achieved, but Agenda set for 2004
ROLLO
MANNING
An
Indigenous/Rural/Isolated/Remote Perspective
The Federal Health
Minister does not think Woolworth should be allowed to sell prescription
drugs.
This was reported on ABC News on 25th November 2003.
The year has finished on a note of "Woolworth's" and this
has been one of the the central themes throughout the year
Minister Tony Abbott said "Dispensing drugs is not just like selling
groceries," he said.
Predictions,
Deregulation & Modelling
CON
BERBATIS
Pharmacy
Researcher Perspective
EDITOR'S
NOTE: In his final article for 2003, Con Berbatis discusses various
influences that may occur in a deregulated pharmacy market, dominated
by supermarket pharmacies.
He delineates defensive strategies utilising his research involving
pharmacies globally, and also comes up with a proposed pharmacy model
that is an ultimate Quality Use of Medicine model.
As we all ponder what lies ahead in 2004, Con Berbatis has cleared the
pathway and given a sense of direction.
All that is required now is for the whole of pharmacy to fall in line
with his thinking and reposition the new boundaries.
It is acknowledged that the Pharmacy Guild of Australia has some difficult
decisions to make, but if they are delayed, we may see permanent damage
to pharmacy infrastructure.
Political lobbying for more protection can only ever be a short term
delaying tactic.
Understanding
Consumers
BRETT
CLARK
E-Commerce
Pharmacy Perspective
It has been well
documented that pharmacy is under siege.
Pharmacy faces a current "deregulation by stealth" with hybrid
models that purport to keep the ownership of pharmacy with pharmacists.
The risk we face is that while we agree to these structures in order
to protect our space, we weaken our model as far as the space that we
have control in will be only be that in which the new entrants cannot
control, want to control, or can make money from.
The
Expert Committee's Report - some initial thoughts
VAL
JOHANSON
Complementary
Healthcare Council Perspective
The recall of more
than 1600 products manufactured by Pan Pharmaceuticals attracted widespread
publicity, and attention was drawn to issues relating to the manufacturing
and usage of complementary medicines.
The Government responded by establishing the Expert Committee on Complementary
Medicines in the Health System, which was guided by the principles of
the National Medicines Policy, including access to medicines, standards
of quality, safety and efficacy, quality use and importantly, supporting
a responsible and viable industry.
Health
Communications
PETER
SAYERS
Pharmacy
Practice Management Perspective
I am wondering when
the first major pharmacy court case involving a privacy breach will
occur in Australia.
Considering the lack of privacy around faxes (the main communications
method in health) and the current spate of disasters surrounding e-mail
(virus and spam), it must only be two minutes to midnight at this point
in time.
We have now progressed from just spam to spam "bullying".
Change
- since 1953
(More in the next five than the past fifty years.
Will you be in the front line - just watch, or bye, bye?)
PAT
GALLAGHER
An
IT Consultant Perspective
Business life back
in 1953 was simple, no doubt about it.
Compared to 2003 everything was reasonably basic.
White coats, pencil behind the ear, telephone on the wall, typewriter
on a desk or dispensing bench.
Brown papers bags and empty bottles, with lids, to fill.
Sticky labels and carbon paper.
A ubiquitous, very large, NCR cash register with lots of keys to transact
pounds, shillings and pence - with staff that could do mental arithmetic
and give correct change as a matter of course.
Perhaps a hand cranked adding machine, hand written prescription records
and ledgers, beautifully recorded by people who could write legibly
and knew how to spell.
Loyalty programs were conducted as 'put it on tick' - credit shopping
between paydays.
The supply chain handled a lot of bulk goods that retailers, chemist
or grocery dispensed and re-packed into paper bags and bottles.
Ah bliss. Life in the slow lane, no 24/7 and no email.
2003
in Reflection
KEN
STAFFORD
Consultant
Pharmacist Perspective
Many journals have
an issue where their writers take a look back over the preceding twelve
months in "philosophical mode" so I thought I would do my
own for this edition of the i2P newsletter.
Radar
KARALYN
HUXHAGEN
PSA
Councilor Perspective
The National Prescribing
Service (NPS) has an exciting new service available for general practitioners,
pharmacists and other health professionals.
RADAR (rational assessment of drugs and research) is an online service
that will provide independent information on new medicines, revised
PBS listings and newly published research relevant to primary care.
Are
pharmacists really serious about their future as independent professionals?
TERRY
IRVINE
A
Pharmacy Organisational Perspective
It is hard not to
be critical of what seems to be happening in community pharmacy.
The time limit for Quality Care Accreditation with the full compensation
amount is fast approaching, and yet there is still less than 80% of
pharmacies that have been accredited even once.
Some, of course, have not only been accredited once, they have been
re-accredited!
They are the significant minority.
Onwards
and Upwards
HEATHER
PYM
Division
of General Practice Perspective
The end of another
year and a time to reminisce on where the time has gone and more importantly
what has been achieved and what is still on the agenda.
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