Page 4 - Submission to the 2015-16 Federal Budget

Background
“Improved primary health care is fundamental to achieving better health outcomes”5
‘IT WILL BE IMPORTANT TO ENSURE THAT THE HEALTH SYSTEM PROVIDES VALUE FOR MONEY.’32
As part of its commitment to a sustainable health system, the Government has acknowledged that primary health care is best positioned to manage chronic disease and support preventive health, easing pressure on the hospital system.6 The former Health Minister expressed a desire to find solutions now for a sustainable health system into the future, and foreshadowing the difficulty in finding money to pay for the services demanded by the increased burden of long‐term health conditions.7
Medicines use is increasing
The growing burden of chronic disease9 is seeing a commensurate increase in medicines use. Over 80% of Australians aged 65 years and over, and about 70% of Australians aged 45‐64 regularly use pharmaceuticals, with these proportions expected to further increase.10
Medicines are the most common treatment
used in health care and contribute to significant improvements in health when used appropriately. Australia spends over $16 billion each year on medicines or around $700 for every man, woman and child in Australia – every year.12 By comparison, we don’t spend very much on medication safety
and we don’t pay anywhere near enough attention to reducing the occurrence and severity of medication errors.
All medicines have the potential for side effects and can interact with other medicines. Each year 230,000 people are admitted to hospital, and many more people experience reduced quality of life, as a result of side effects of their medicines. This comes at a cost to the system of more than $1.2 billion.13 The COAG Reform Council’s recent report documented increases in potentially preventable hospital admissions.14
Much of this personal and financial burden is preventable, with increasing evidence of the impact that pharmacists can have on medication safety and adherence, and the resulting savings to the health system.16,17
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders
continue to experience worse health
It is not only ageing Australians with increasing co‐morbidities who will continue to be exposed to the risk of medication misadventure unless improved multi‐disciplinary systems and process are developed, evaluated, implemented and
4 Integratingpharmacistsintoprimarycareteams I©PharmaceuticalSocietyofAustraliaLtd.