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The feature articles below are "opinion" pieces and reflect the views of the individual authors. They are not the views of AusPharm.net.au P/L, its directors or editorial group unless explicitly stated to be so.
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Opinion
Ron makes some compelling arguments in this article. AusPharm looks forward to the day that Ron's challenge becomes a reality. More...
I suspect that I was one of Telstra's first ADSL customers in Heidelberg back at the turn-of-the-century: my account number was HEID01, and I ditched them as soon as my contract expired. More...
The feeling of frustration that comes from being helpless to assist people who really need all the help they can get feels like the life being sucked out of me and yet these are the very things that help define me. All of this in our own backyard..... More...
When the family collected her discharge meds from the hospital dispensary, the pharmacist made an unsolicited comment about her medications interacting, which then set them off on a wild goose chase looking for answers. Here's how they saw the story........ More...
"My work out bush started as a discreetly funded project but after the first year the remote area health service found that I brought something extra to the primary health care team and now they fund my position." More...
 The July 1st introduction of a total ban on smoking in enclosed licensed premises in Victoria may I suspect turn out to be just such a beast for at least one already disenfranchised slice of our community. More...
"A recent change to the Rules provides an example of how they can have an unintended effect and serves to remind us of the fragility of the system which underpins retail pharmacy." More...
"I experienced the most bizarre day on the train this week. You know you've taken your pharmacy degree far when all of a sudden you are subconsciously applying your skills in a different setting." More...
"To understand why and how this will occur, it is useful to understand the financial model on which most private hospital pharmacy businesses are based." More...
So we took the initiative to invite contributions from key people in just about every pharmacy sector we could imagine might be affected by the PBS Reforms. Our contributors have been extraordinarily generous in sharing their knowledge and expertise, offered today exclusively to our premium subscribers, together with a selection of comments on the reforms submitted by regular 'Listers, which appear at the end of today's (e)news as AusPharmList posts. Our diverse group of high profile pharmacy figures writing for this issue, in the main, are agreed on one thing - the PBS Reforms will give rise to significant challenges to the operations of many pharmacies, and the time to start planning for the changes is NOW! "You can clutch the past so tightly to your chest that it leaves your arms too full to embrace the present." Jan Glidewell
"With the August 2008 PBS changes, we expect these positive margin-generating sales will be curtailed, inevitably shrinking what is already a slight margin. The discounting game is about to get tougher!" More...
"Over the last several years in particular, as the ballooning costs of Australia's subsidised medicines scheme emerged as a major economic management issue for the Government, we have seen an increasing number of adjustments to the PBS pharmacy revenue model... If the dispensary was a hot income earner for pharmacists in the 1990's, it's getting chilly in there now." More...
"Our view is that, despite the PBS reforms, as long as regulatory controls remain in place the Pharmacy industry will continue to enjoy good health although ongoing success will not necessarily be shared between each and every Pharmacy." More...
"The maintenance of the community pharmacy network for PBS and professional service delivery must be protected and enhanced as it has a well documented history of public benefit." More...
Here's what he had to say. More...
This features page will be updated with new opinion pieces regularly. Unlike the hard copy publications that publish all their content once each week/fortnight/month we will publish on a rolling basis. Got something to say? Fancy yourself as a features writer? At AusPharm.net.au we are always on the lookout for people with an opinion to express. If you think you fit the bill, contact Mark Dunn to express an interest or to get further information. |
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In todays feature article Ron Batagol challenges us all to set up and maintain "a high-quality independent, peer-review and validated, alternative to CMIs."
"Apparently there's been an oversupply of pharmacists in recent times looking for work in Sydney.
There are many, many reasons not to be a Telstra customer in the 21st century, not the least of which has to do with their service and their price. 
It's the quiet heroes of our time that make life all the more worth living. I sit back and think of the last few months and how much the meaning of life has become richer. The experiences I've had in that time are second to none. 
Having two young school age children, I am regularly badgered into taking them to a fast food chain outlet for what is anything but a "happy meal". 
patient care. It concerned a woman, let's call her Mrs T, who was being discharged from hospital after a 3-week ordeal of serious illness, psychiatric instability and police involvement. 
As you can see, the 'no preposition at the end of a sentence' lesson I not only learned but actually practice and I believe there may be some other stuff of at least equivalent importance that I regularly feel the urge to pass on lest the angst, pain and sometimes acute embarrassment that led to the getting of these pearls (small 'p' to distinguish them from Peter Allen's) be for nought.
"My first manager's job in the early 60s, in a Pharmacy in inner Melbourne, lasted for a day and a half! On Day One I "sprung" the trusted shop assistant about to post off a heap of dexamphetamine tablets - which was then only S4 - to various valued clientele who never bothered to get scripts for them. She insisted Mr Boss did it "all the time" for his customers, and they really appreciated it. I bet they did!" More... 
out to his diverse and geographically widespread constituents.
little more upbeat from 4th year Curtin University pharmacy student Archana Haria.
PharmConsult
AusPharm initially thought to compile a 'Dummies Guide to the PBS Reforms', but the reforms are complex, and we were concerned by the prospect of inadvertently missing important points. 'Listers wishing to bone up on the detail currently available should check out the 
General Manager of Chemist Warehouse, Damien Gance has reponded to our call to shed a little light on what the PBS Reforms might hold for pharmacies which embrace the discount model.
Reforms would mean for the Wholesalers.
"How many times have we all heard the phrase "pharmacy is at the crossroads"? To my mind this does not really describe where the profession currently stands since many pharmacists have already chosen the path they want to take. They have chosen to take the road of delivering more in-depth professional services and have made great strides along it. More...