Australians may be forced to see GP for common painkiller prescriptions
Australians may be forced to see a doctor for common painkillers that contain codeine.
Doctors claim the move is ‘sensible’ in efforts to battle the rising number of Australians addicted to the drug.
Codeine is found in common painkillers such as Nurofen Plus or Panadeine Extra.
However pharmacists have hit back at the plan, as they say it will clog up GP clinics, increase health costs and won’t effectively identify addicts.
The Pharmacy Guild of Australia believes the move will inconvenience majority of Australians who responsibly use codeine-containing drugs available over the counter.
A decision will be made in November, with a view to move to prescriptions by June 2016.
The pharmacy guild accepted that there was a need for action on codeine addiction, but it had a better plan.
Before the final decision the guild will present a new software solution that could give every pharmacy in Australia real-time access to a customers’ drug purchases.
"There's no real time monitoring when you go and see your doctor," the guild's national president George Tambassis says.
"We don't see this blunt instrument being the solution."
The Australian Medical Association accepted that the plan would likely result in additional health system costs and higher workloads for GPs.
But AMA Vice President Stephen Parnis said those things must be weighed up against the cost of harm inflicted by the misuse of codeine, intentional or otherwise.
"We are the only country really, in the developed world, where codeine has been available without a prescription," he told AAP.
"We also know that the number of people suffering avoidable harm in this area has been increasing over time, to the point where, at least in Victoria, the number of deaths from overdose of prescription narcotics is higher than the road toll."
