The Pharmacy Guild of Australia is calling on the Federal Government to examine whether Australia’s healthcare regulations are keeping pace with the growth of vertically integrated healthcare models, following recent media reports highlighting serious questions about the treatment of veterans within parts of the healthcare system.
The Guild is concerned that this issue extends beyond a single provider and highlights broader concerns about high-volume telehealth prescribing models. Regulators have been aware of these prescribing models for years, yet regulatory safeguards have failed to keep pace with the risks to vulnerable patients, including veterans.
National Councillor and Acting President of the Pharmacy Guild of Australia, Mr Chris Owen, said veterans and other vulnerable patients should never be viewed as business opportunities.
“Australians rightly expect healthcare decisions to be driven by what is best for the patient, not by commercial arrangements designed to maximise revenue,” Mr Owen said.
“Regulators, policymakers and healthcare leaders must take a hard look at whether existing safeguards are keeping pace with these business models and whether vulnerable Australians are being adequately protected.”
“Healthcare funding should support better health outcomes, not corporate profits,” Mr Owen said.
Recent concerns about direct-to-consumer healthcare models, including manufacturer-linked medicine supply platforms such as LillyDirect, demonstrate that these questions extend well beyond any single provider or sector. Policymakers should be considering the broader implications when commercial entities are increasingly able to market directly to consumers while influencing access pathways to treatment.
“When vulnerable Australians are encouraged to change healthcare providers because of financial inducements or marketing campaigns, governments need to ask whether the system is delivering the right incentives,” Mr Owen said.
“Healthcare is not a subscription service. Patients are not revenue streams and they should never be treated as such.”
“Community pharmacists are often the health professional patients see most frequently. They know their communities, they understand their patients and they are focused on delivering care, not meeting shareholder expectations.”
