An increased role in screening and helping patients struggling with their medication is part of a new patient-focused funding model for pharmacies just signed off.
Health Minister Tony Ryall announced this week that all 947 community pharmacy businesses had signed up to the new District Health Board contracts by the cut off date of July 23.
The new model has been described by the Pharmacy Guild as the biggest change in services and funding for the profession in more than 50 years.
The transition to the new model began on July 1 and will move pharmacies from being paid solely by a medicine dispensing fee to a patient-focused payment mechanism.
A major change under the new model will be the introduction on February 1 of funding of a long-term conditions service for patients struggling with self-managing their medications.
Under the service GPs, other health professionals including district nurses or pharmacists can refer long-term condition patients they are concerned about, and eligible patients will be offered a medication management plan with their local pharmacist.
Eligible patients will work with their pharmacist to develop a medication management plan, including frequency of dispensing and reminder service. The pharmacist will keep in touch with the patient’s GP team and other health professionals involved in their care and where necessary refer to other health services. The range of interventions and support offered by the pharmacist will be tailored to meet the patient’s needs, their understanding of medicines and the complexity of their medication regime.
Karen Crisp, executive chair of the Pharmacy Guild of New Zealand, said the new agreement provided an opportunity for community pharmacists to be recognised for working more closely with patients who could benefit from their knowledge and skills.
Crisp said new IT developments also provided an opportunity for better collaboration between prescribers and pharmacy. “This is good news for patients.”
Ryall said there are around 200,000 New Zealander with long-term conditions having difficulty managing their medicines, and by pharmacists working closely with patients, they could ensure patients got the best health benefit from their medicines.
