Speaker 1: Already and this is this is the daily Oh, this
Speaker 1: is the Daily ohs oh, now it makes sense.
Speaker 2: Good morning and welcome to the Daily OS. It's Friday,
Speaker 2: the twenty seventh of September.
Speaker 3: I'm Zara, I'm Lucy from tomorrow.
Speaker 1: If you're a New South Wales resident aged eighteen to
Speaker 1: forty nine, and you've been taking the contraceptive pill for
Speaker 1: two years, you'll be able to get it from a
Speaker 1: trained pharmacist without looking into CUGP more than once a year.
Speaker 1: And New South Wales is not alone. Most of the
Speaker 1: country is now trialing similar approaches and extending it to
Speaker 1: other medications like treatments for UTIs and exma. In today's
Speaker 1: deep dive, we'll explain what's driven this push to give
Speaker 1: pharmacists more power over everyday medications and what it means
Speaker 1: for you. But first, Sarah, what's making headlines.
Speaker 2: A joint statement from twelve countries, including Australia, has called
Speaker 2: for an immediate twenty one day ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel.
Speaker 2: The statement said the situation is quote intolerable and presents
Speaker 2: an unacceptable risk of a broader regional escalation. This is
Speaker 2: in nobody's interests neither of the people of Israel nor
Speaker 2: the people of Lebanon. According to the Group of Nations,
Speaker 2: a diplomatic settlement must be met that can quote enable
Speaker 2: civilians on both sides of the border to return to
Speaker 2: their homes in safety.
Speaker 1: New data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows that
Speaker 1: job vacancies are the lowest they've been in two years.
Speaker 1: The ABS defines job vacancies as employee jobs that are
Speaker 1: available for immediate filling, and uses this figure as an
Speaker 1: indicator of unmet labor demand. According to the ABS, there
Speaker 1: were three hundred and thirty thousand job vacancies in August
Speaker 1: twenty twenty four, down by eighteen thousand from may.
Speaker 2: New York City Mayor Eric Adams has become the first
Speaker 2: sitting mayor to face criminal charges in the city's history.
Speaker 2: The New York Times first reported that Adams had been indicted,
Speaker 2: before he later confirmed that he was expecting to be
Speaker 2: charged following a long running corruption investigation. It comes after
Speaker 2: many senior staffers in his administration have resigned in recent weeks.
Speaker 2: In a video after the New York Times report, Adams
Speaker 2: said that any charges against him would be quote based
Speaker 2: on lies and confirmed he would continue to lead as
Speaker 2: mayor of the city.
Speaker 1: And today's good news. Scientists have found a new species
Speaker 1: of ghost shark that lives exclusively in waters of Australia
Speaker 1: and New Zealand. Closely related to sharks and rays, ghost
Speaker 1: sharks are an extremely rare type of fish found deep
Speaker 1: in the ocean. While all ghost sharks around the world
Speaker 1: were thought to be the same species, the newly discovered
Speaker 1: Australasian narrow nosed spookfish is genetically different to its cousins.
Speaker 1: Doctor britt Finucci from New Zealand's National in Institute of
Speaker 1: Water and Atmospheric Research led to the team who made
Speaker 1: the discovery. Finucci gave the fish a scientific name, Harriota Avia.
Speaker 1: Avia means grandmother in Latin. The name was given in
Speaker 1: honor of the research as late grandmother, who, she said,
Speaker 1: quote proudly supported me through my career as a scientist.
Speaker 2: Okay, so, Lucy oral contraception aka the pill, We're just
Speaker 2: going to call it the pill from here on in.
Speaker 2: It's been available to Ossie's for sixty three years now,
Speaker 2: so statistically most of us really don't know what adult
Speaker 2: life is without the pill, and for most of that time,
Speaker 2: accessing the pills being this matter of seeing the GP
Speaker 2: every so often and getting a script, then getting that
Speaker 2: script filled at the pharmacy.
Speaker 3: But that is now changing. Talk to me about it.
Speaker 1: Yes, exactly. That is now changing across the country, but
Speaker 1: specifically from tomorrow in New South Wales. It's what I
Speaker 1: would call the biggest development in our relationship with the
Speaker 1: pill since it went on the Pharmaceutical Benefit Scheme, the BBS,
Speaker 1: which subsidizes medications. That happened in nineteen seventy two. Before that,
Speaker 1: the pill was subject to a thirty percent luxury tax
Speaker 1: and I think.
Speaker 3: Got a luxury tax. Exactually, what a luxury? Your child?
Speaker 3: What a luxury?
Speaker 1: Well, at that time it really was a luxury. And
Speaker 1: I think that shows you how our relationship with the
Speaker 1: pill has changed, that it's become something that had a
Speaker 1: hefty luxury tax to something that is such a necessity
Speaker 1: that governments around the country are working to find ways
Speaker 1: to make it easier and less complicated and more straightforward
Speaker 1: and less of an issue to access. Is really what
Speaker 1: I'm trying to say, taking up less time out of
Speaker 1: our week really, so from tomorrow, certain people in New
Speaker 1: South Wales, so if you're aged eighteen to forty nine
Speaker 1: and you've been taking the pill for two years. You'll
Speaker 1: only need to see your GP once a year to
Speaker 1: get your prescription renewed, and the rest of the time
Speaker 1: pharmacists those who carry out special training can dispense it
Speaker 1: to you.
Speaker 2: Okay, tak me through how this change came about, because
Speaker 2: you know, as you intimated earlier, there hasn't been that
Speaker 2: much change in this area for quite a while now,
Speaker 2: So how did this happen.
Speaker 1: I'll talk about New South Wales specifically first and then
Speaker 1: we'll get to the rest of the country later. But
Speaker 1: the first we heard of this idea in New South
Speaker 1: Wales where we are is right before the state election
Speaker 1: last year. So February twenty twenty three, the then coalition
Speaker 1: government led by Dominic Perrote made an election promise to
Speaker 1: trial allowing quote pharmacists to renew prescriptions for the contraceptive pill.
Speaker 1: So that's really the first we heard of it at
Speaker 1: this state level. The coalition did go on to lose
Speaker 1: that election, but the idea stuck around and in September
Speaker 1: last year, the new government, the Labor government, announced almost
Speaker 1: one thousand pharmacies were eligible to dispense the pill without
Speaker 1: a prescription to those aged eighteen to thirty five, again
Speaker 1: with that same caveat of if you've been prescribed it
Speaker 1: in the last two years. That trial which lasted a
Speaker 1: year so September to September where we are now, women
Speaker 1: only paid the cost of the medication.
Speaker 2: Okay, so they weren't paying any other costs, for example,
Speaker 2: that they would have been with a GP previously. What
Speaker 2: was the reasoning that the government gave for this trial,
Speaker 2: Because it's interesting that this is one of those moments
Speaker 2: where there does seem to be this bipartisan support. It
Speaker 2: was first floaded as an idea by the former liberal
Speaker 2: Premier Dom Perrote, but carried through by Labor Premier Chris Mins.
Speaker 2: What are they saying is the reason behind this?
Speaker 1: So when Perrote announced this election promise, he said it
Speaker 1: was partly motivated by quote, making it easier and quicker
Speaker 1: for people, particularly women, to access important prescription medications and treatments.
Speaker 1: So making it easier to access. But governments don't tend
Speaker 1: to do things just because it will make our lives easier.
Speaker 1: They have to have other reasons. And another really important
Speaker 1: reason that they gave was reducing strain on GPS over
Speaker 1: the last couple of years. The Royal Australian College of
Speaker 1: General Practitioners RACGP that the peak body for GPS has
Speaker 1: really repeatedly flagged gps are overworked and burnt out.
Speaker 2: And we've spoken about that so many times on this
Speaker 2: podcast before we've spoken to GPS so are saying, you know,
Speaker 2: they just don't have enough hours in the day to
Speaker 2: get the work done exactly.
Speaker 1: That's on top of the difficulty that lots of TDA
Speaker 1: readers and listeners have also told us that they've had
Speaker 1: difficulty finding gps who bulk bill, they have difficulty getting
Speaker 1: into see a doctor when they need to. So that really,
Speaker 1: you know, it makes sense if GPS are saying we're
Speaker 1: having trouble getting to see everyone, and people are saying
Speaker 1: we're having trouble getting into see doctors. So that's also
Speaker 1: particularly true for people in regional and rural areas. According
Speaker 1: to a government report last month, people in those areas
Speaker 1: face a significant shortfall of GPS in the coming years.
Speaker 1: It's only going to get worse year on year.
Speaker 2: Okay, And so then was the logic that if a
Speaker 2: woman doesn't have to go to her GP every so
Speaker 2: often to get that script renewed, but rather could do
Speaker 2: it at the pharmacy. That that would free up the
Speaker 2: GP for other work. Is that what was the logic?
Speaker 3: That was the logic?
Speaker 1: Yes, And that it also would make it easier for
Speaker 1: rural and regional people to quote get the help they
Speaker 1: need without having to drive a long way to see
Speaker 1: a GP who maybe doesn't have an appointment for three weeks.
Speaker 2: Yeah, okay, And so those are the reasons why the
Speaker 2: Government of the day and the previous coalition government both.
Speaker 3: Thought that this was a good idea.
Speaker 2: What about the other side, what are some of the
Speaker 2: downfalls perhaps of this sort of policy.
Speaker 1: So despite this being pitched as something that will help GPS,
Speaker 1: the RACGP actually opposed this trial when it was first announced.
Speaker 1: They suggested there wasn't enough information about how patients would
Speaker 1: be kept safe. Another peak body, the Australian Medical Association,
Speaker 1: which represents all doctors, not just GPS, campaigned against the
Speaker 1: trial and others like it in other states, saying it
Speaker 1: quote put patients at risk.
Speaker 2: I know that one of the other ideas that I'd
Speaker 2: heard was that you know, this is also revenue that's
Speaker 2: then not going to GPS. Because those appointments are drying
Speaker 2: up that some gps are complaining about the fact that
Speaker 2: they then won't be able to, you know, have those
Speaker 2: regular appointments that created some sort of revenue for their
Speaker 2: practices exactly.
Speaker 1: So those are some of the concerns about this trial specifically.
Speaker 3: Of course, we.
Speaker 1: Should mention that there are and continue to be concerns
Speaker 1: about the pill itself. Yeah, TDA listeners have told us
Speaker 1: many times before about things like Migrain's, hormonal imbalances or
Speaker 1: mental ill health that they traced back to taking the pill.
Speaker 1: New South Wales Health's website notes that low risk pills,
Speaker 1: the kind that can be dispensed under this trial that's
Speaker 1: been made permanent, which can contain quote only small amounts
Speaker 1: of estrogen, have been linked to a low risk of
Speaker 1: blood clots and stroke.
Speaker 2: Okay, And so with all of that said, with you know,
Speaker 2: the risks of the pill obviously identified, but also the
Speaker 2: fore and against about trial, we now know that the
Speaker 2: government has moved to make it permanent. So if I
Speaker 2: am someone who tomorrow Saturday want to go and get
Speaker 2: the pill, what does that look like?
Speaker 1: So you need to have been taking it for two
Speaker 1: years and you need to find a pharmacy that has
Speaker 1: a pharmacist that's taken the government's training to be able
Speaker 1: to dispense the pill. If someone has been prescribed a
Speaker 1: certain type of contraception by a doctor, a pharmacist won't
Speaker 1: be able to change the kind that you're taking.
Speaker 3: Okay.
Speaker 2: So if I have been on a certain pill for
Speaker 2: a year and a half and I want to change that,
Speaker 2: I'd still need to go back to the GP to
Speaker 2: get that script changed, yes, okay, And so then how
Speaker 2: often would I then have to go to the GP
Speaker 2: if not for that scenario?
Speaker 1: So every twelve months, once a year is how often
Speaker 1: you'd be going back to the GP to renew your
Speaker 1: overall script. Then when you go to the pharmacist, now
Speaker 1: that the trial has been made permanent, you'll be paying
Speaker 1: what the government expects to be around twenty to thirty
Speaker 1: dollars for a consultation with a pharmacist, and then you'll
Speaker 1: also be paying for the medication.
Speaker 3: What have pharmacists said about this?
Speaker 2: I think I probably know the answer, but you know
Speaker 2: now knowing as well that they will be paid for
Speaker 2: that consultation as well, now that the trial is over.
Speaker 3: What have we heard from the pharmacists themselves.
Speaker 1: Pharmacists are in favor of the trial being made permanent.
Speaker 1: The Pharmaceutical Society of Australia, which is the industry's peak
Speaker 1: professional body, supported the measure. It's nytoth Wales's president, Luke
Speaker 1: Kelly called it quote an important step kind of cementing
Speaker 1: the role of community pharmacies in providing support to patients.
Speaker 2: Now, Lucy, we've been speaking about the pills specifically because
Speaker 2: you know there is this big announcement from tomorrow. But
Speaker 2: I have read and heard about not just the pill
Speaker 2: being accessible in these sorts of scenarios. What do we
Speaker 2: know about the other medications that people can access in
Speaker 2: this sort of way going through the pharmacy rather than
Speaker 2: through a GP.
Speaker 1: You're right, the pill is not the only one. Under
Speaker 1: a similar pro New South Wales, pharmacists who've completed a
Speaker 1: special training can dispense medication for uncomplicated UTIs to women
Speaker 1: who are eighteen to sixty five who haven't had one recently.
Speaker 1: Interesting and under another trial, trained pharmacists can dispense some
Speaker 1: medications to some people without a prescription for skin conditions
Speaker 1: including exma and impetaigo.
Speaker 2: Okay, and there's New South Wales because I think we've
Speaker 2: only spoken about New South Wales so far, is that
Speaker 2: the only state or territory where these trials are taking place.
Speaker 1: So across the country, states and territories are undergoing trials
Speaker 1: or have made these things permanent. In Wa, it's women
Speaker 1: aged eighteen to thirty nine who can get a resupply
Speaker 1: of the pill without seeing a GP more than once
Speaker 1: a year. In South Australia, the same applies for those
Speaker 1: aged seventeen to forty. In Tazi, for women aged sixteen
Speaker 1: to fifty if you've taken it for two years. In
Speaker 1: the Act, there's an ongoing trial for those aged eighteen
Speaker 1: to thirty five, and a trial in Victoria for those
Speaker 1: aged sixteen to fifty actually wraps up next month. Many
Speaker 1: of those states also have similar programs for UTIs and
Speaker 1: skin conditions, like New South Wales. Really leading the charge
Speaker 1: here is Queensland, where a trial is underway allowing pharmacists
Speaker 1: to prescribe, not just dispense, the pill to women and
Speaker 1: girls older than sixteen. The state government said this is
Speaker 1: aimed at making it easier for women in rural and
Speaker 1: regional areas to manage their reproductive health. It is still
Speaker 1: a trial, so we'll have to wait and see what
Speaker 1: the results are.
Speaker 2: Lucie, thank you so much for joining us on today's pod,
Speaker 2: and thank you for listening to another week of The
Speaker 2: Daily Os. We'll be back again with a good News
Speaker 2: wrap tomorrow, but until then, have a brilliant Friday.
Speaker 1: My name is Lily Maddon and I'm a proud Arunda
Speaker 1: Bungelung Calcoton woman from Gadighl Country. The Daily Os acknowledges
Speaker 1: that this podcast is recorded on the lands of the
Speaker 1: Gadighl people and pays respect to all Abridge, Rejonal and
Speaker 1: torrest Rate island and nations. We pay our respects to
Speaker 1: the first peoples of these countries, both past and present.