NEWS 3
ausdoc. com. au 20 MARCH 2026
NEWS 3
Vic pharmacists to initiate OCP
The move will spare women the‘ hassle’ of GP appointments, the state Premier says.
NEWSPIX
Antony Scholefield VICTORIAN pharmacists will initiate the |
oral contraceptive pill even for patients |
without a previous GP script, starting |
from July, state Premier Jacinta Allan has |
announced. |
Her plan was immediately lambasted |
by the RACGP, which accused the Victorian |
Government of ignoring the TGA’ s repeated |
‘ Getting the pill shouldn’ t be a burden for women.’ |
decisions to keep contraceptive pills as |
|
S4 drugs.
As with the existing pharmacy prescribing program in the state, pharmacists initiat ing scripts for the pill will be paid $ 20 per consult by the government and will not
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Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan. |
be allowed to charge gap fees. |
alternatives, such as long-acting reversible |
Victorian pharmacists can already |
scripts for 17,000 women since 2023. |
They will, however, charge full price for |
contraception. |
extend oral contraceptive prescriptions for |
Last year, the Victorian Government |
the medication itself, which will not be PBS |
“ Getting the pill shouldn’ t be a burden |
patients whose scripts have been initiated |
announced that pharmacists would be |
subsidised. |
for women,” she said.“ Searching around |
by a GP under the state’ s pharmacy prescrib- |
allowed to manage and prescribe S4 |
Ms Allan says pharmacists will have to |
for that bulk-billing GP appointment then |
ing program, as well as diagnose and pre- |
drugs for up to 20 conditions— including |
complete a training module before initiat- |
arranging your day around that appoint- |
scribe for shingles and UTIs. Ms Allan says |
type 2 diabetes, hypertension and aller- |
ing pill scripts and will counsel women on |
ment, that’ s a hassle.” |
pharmacists have renewed contraceptive |
gies— by 2027. |
Speeding GP escapes ban
Carmel Sparke A DOCTOR had his speeding fine and licence disqualification reversed after a judge extended leniency, noting the“ good works” he does, particularly in aged care.
The rural GP had been fined $ 1000 and lost his licence for speeding as he drove the four hours from a shift at Cowra Hospital to his home on the NSW south coast.
He had been clocked at 139km / h in a 100km / h zone shortly after 9pm in March 2025, an offence which, in NSW, carries a fine, five demerit points and a three-month licence disqualification.
He had been clocked at 139km / h in a 100km / h zone.
The GP, who also works in rural hospitals and in aged care in addition to general practice in the Shoalhaven area, appealed the ban handed down in the Nowra Local Court in August.
In his decision, Judge Christopher O’ Brien said that, even though it was a“ close-run thing”, he would extend leniency, in part because of the debt of gratitude owed to doctors.
Drawing on his own experiences as a board member of an
‘ This appeal is a bit of a‘ toss-up’, to be honest.’
aged care facility, the judge said he was aware of how difficult it was to attract doctors, describing the GP’ s service to aged care as a“ very positive” aspect of his case.
“ The community in some sense owes him and others like him a debt of some gratitude for the service they undertake for the elderly members of our community,” Judge O’ Brien said in a decision handed down in the District Court of NSW in October last year.
“ But he should not expect if he speeds seriously again and comes back before a court that he would receive the same benefit that I am about to extend to him.”
The judge said he was not impressed that the GP had driven home at night after completing a shift at a hospital,“ in all likelihood somewhat fatigued”.
“ Yet he was prepared to drive in that state, heading home at a very significant excessive speed,” he told the court.
“ This appeal is a bit of a‘ toss-up’, to be honest.
“ There are some features which point towards a conviction being recorded as a matter of public safety and deterrence.”
But tipping the balance in favour of the GP was his attendance at a traffic offenders’ program and a letter to the court expressing remorse, the judge said.
Referrals too short: govt
FROM PAGE 1
“ I don’ t expect politicians to get this, but I am astounded that other health professionals commenting don’ t seem to.”
Dr Diana Rubel, a Canberra dermatologist, said:“ I accepted indefinite referrals briefly when I first started at my current clinic some 18 years ago, and patients are still attempting to see me with them, long after their GPs have retired or otherwise left the scene.
“ No medical background available to me at all other than patient history— not always accurate.”
The department’ s consultation paper also recommended making it easier for patients to change specialists.
While patients can take a referral to any specialist in the field, even if the referring GP names a specialist, patients cannot see multiple specialists under the
A $ 220 million cost-saver? same referral, the paper said.
If the rule was scrapped, each new specialist could bill an initial attendance item.
“ This would allow patients to seek second opinions without the inconvenience and potential financial costs associated with acquiring a new referral and without disadvantaging the new non-GP specialist by preventing them from claiming an initial attendance item.”
The 2020 Deeble paper said GPs wrote around 15 million specialist referrals a year.
Given there were 9,300,000‘ initial’ consultations claimed by specialists in same time period, the authors said it implied that at least 5,700,000 referrals were associated with continuing care.
“ If the same number of GP consultations occurred as a result of the regulatory need to obtain a repeat referral, the cost to the MBS in 2018 / 2019 is estimated to have been $ 219,960,000, excluding any bulk-billing incentives that may have also been claimed,” it said.
“ Therefore, if the requirement of issuing repeat referrals for continuing care was removed, the likely savings to government would be immense.”