Pharmacists will soon be able to conduct Home Medicines Review (HMR) follow-ups via telehealth, The Honourable Mark Butler, Federal Minister for Health, Disability and Ageing, announced at PSA26 today.
‘The HMR is such an important part of that Quality Use of Medicine system that we cherish and in which the profession plays an utterly critical and central role,’ Minister Butler told the delegates gathered for PSA26’s opening plenary at Sydney’s International Convention and Exhibition Centre.
The option to deliver HMR follow-up services online will be available from 1 November 2026.
PSA Strategic Agreements Lead Brooke Shelly FPS said the announcement was an important step forward for the profession.
‘Medicines safety is fundamental to a stronger, safer health system,’ she said. ‘While we’re pleased to have greater flexibility in how these programs are delivered, there is still more to achieve, and today’s announcement provides a strong foundation for the work to come.’
Could HMR caps be next?
While today’s announcement will be welcomed by credentialed pharmacists and patients, there were no announcements today about other longstanding challenges such as the caps on HMRs and indexation for HMR service fees.
But Minister Butler hinted these issues were under active consideration.
He said discussions with PSA have had a ‘profound impact’ on him, and he welcomed the opportunity to discuss other areas that PSA has identified as integral to improving the health of Australians.
This includes lifting the monthly provider service cap on HMRs and applying annual indexation to HMR service fees, which formed part of the PSA’s Federal Budget Submission this year.
Describing the negotiations for the first Pharmacy Programs Agreement as a ‘milestone step in the way in which the profession takes its rightful place at the table in Canberra,’ Minister Butler recognised the stewardship of standards and programs that it will encompass.
A separate agreement, he said, will put a spotlight on the value provided by the pharmacy profession.
‘This is a part of the health sector that you know – as well as I do – is generally dominated by the voice of business owners, particularly in the community sector,’ he said.
‘That is a reality of how the health sector works in this country and how Canberra works. But it doesn’t just have to be that way.’
Aged care next on the agenda
The minister also used his address to acknowledge the PSA’s leadership in the Aged Care On-site Pharmacist (ACOP) program, saying more than 650 aged care facilities had taken it up.
‘I think it might be something we negotiate on the sidelines of the PPA,’ he said.
‘As someone associated with aged care for well over 3 decades now, I know the low-hanging fruit that is there for pharmacists to fix around deprescribing. Polypharmacy in aged care is frankly terrifying.’
He also revealed that the government wants to expand pharmacist vaccination in residential aged care facilities.
‘That relationship is critically important, and we know COVID-19, flu, and RSV vaccines for aged care residents are important, but also now a statutory obligation for aged care providers. Discharging that obligation is a great opportunity for you.’
