Australian Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme

Running head: AUSTRALIAN PHARMACEUTICAL BENEFITS SCHEME
AUSTRALIAN PHARMACEUTICAL BENEFITS SCHEME
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1AUSTRALIAN PHARMACEUTICAL BENEFITS SCHEME
Executive Summary
The need to ensure accessibility and affordability in terms of basic medication and healthcare
services forms the underlying background of the Australian Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme
(PBS). The purpose of this report is to critically review PBS characteristics.
 Statins, antiretroviral drugs and cancer drugs are the most used drugs in Australia.
 Major medications have been removed from PBS subsidy list.
 The safety net rule increases medication costs during emergencies and for remote
communities.
 Despite PBS, Australia continues to experience high medication cost.
Hence, to conclude, it is recommended that the government review the high PBS costs and
explore options to enhance affordability for disadvantaged groups.

2AUSTRALIAN PHARMACEUTICAL BENEFITS SCHEME
Table of Contents
Introduction..........................................................................................................................2
Discussion............................................................................................................................2
Costs and Reasons of Medication Consumption in Australia.........................................2
Types of Medicines Consumed.......................................................................................4
Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme: Problems...................................................................5
Concluding Recommendations........................................................................................7
References............................................................................................................................9

3AUSTRALIAN PHARMACEUTICAL BENEFITS SCHEME
Introduction
The Australian Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) was developed to provide access
to wide range of drugs to Australian citizens at however, subsidized price. PBS has been subject
to nationwide public scrutiny and criticism, due to the rise in its subsequent subsidized costs. The
PBS is regulated by the National Health (Pharmaceutical Benefits) Regulations 1960 and
National Health Act (Paige et al., 2015). The following report will discuss on medicine
consumption in Australia and the key issues associated with PBS and recommendations which
may aid in possible improvements of the same.
Discussion
Costs and Reasons of Medication Consumption in Australia
The medicinal group of statins record highest cost and usage followed by medicines for
treatment of neurological complications and antiretroviral drugs required for the management of
hepatic conditions like Hepatitis C (Mellish, 2015). Taking insights from the report published by
the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, medicines like statins, required for the treatment
of high circulatory cholesterol levels and cardiovascular abnormalities have undergone
dispensing in volumes higher than other drugs, amounting to approximately 10 million
prescriptions annual across the years ranging from 2016 to 2017 (Paola, 2019). Of these,
Atorvastatin has been reported to yield the highest usage with an alarming cost of $19. Such high
costs continue to sound ironic considering the presence of PBS whose agenda lies in the
subsidizing the costs of medications for the general public (ABC News. (2019). Followed by
statin usage, antiretroviral drugs for the treatment of Hepatitis C have been recorded to yield