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Motivation & Insight into Medicine 10
'All licensed medicines should be included in the Pharmaceutical Benefit Scheme (PBS)'. Explain what PBS is an outline the advantages and disadvantages to this policy.
Average Candidate Response
With these medicines being licensed, they are confirmed 'safe' and hence should be made available through PBS, which presently involves subsidising the cost of selected licensed medicines.
Excellent Candidate Response
The Pharmaceutical Benefit Scheme involves providing prescription medications to patients, at a subsidised cost. Patients pay an ‘out-of-pocket’ cost, entitling them to pay a reduced amount towards prescriptions; this can be beneficial for patients who purchase a high number of medications. However, not all medications are covered by this scheme – for example, aspirin, iron and folic acid supplements are omitted. A benefit of reducing the amount of medication included in the PBS is that it reduces how much patients have to pay towards the programme, which is particularly advantageous to patients who only require a small assortment of medications, and saves taxpayers a significant amount of money per year. Despite this, withholding certain medications from the PBS may have negative consequences for patients suffering from chronic health conditions. For example, ‘over the counter analgesics’ (eg. Paracetamol) have been removed from the scheme; this could have disadvantageous effects on patients who experience chronic pain, such as in fibromyalgia, requiring them to pay large amounts to buy this drug outside of the scheme. Furthermore, not all patients may be aware of what medications fall under the PBS – particularly in more deprived or rural areas – potentially resulting in them paying large amounts towards the programme unnecessarily.
With these medicines being licensed, they are confirmed 'safe' and hence should be made available through PBS, which presently involves subsidising the cost of selected licensed medicines.
Excellent Candidate Response
The Pharmaceutical Benefit Scheme involves providing prescription medications to patients, at a subsidised cost. Patients pay an ‘out-of-pocket’ cost, entitling them to pay a reduced amount towards prescriptions; this can be beneficial for patients who purchase a high number of medications. However, not all medications are covered by this scheme – for example, aspirin, iron and folic acid supplements are omitted. A benefit of reducing the amount of medication included in the PBS is that it reduces how much patients have to pay towards the programme, which is particularly advantageous to patients who only require a small assortment of medications, and saves taxpayers a significant amount of money per year. Despite this, withholding certain medications from the PBS may have negative consequences for patients suffering from chronic health conditions. For example, ‘over the counter analgesics’ (eg. Paracetamol) have been removed from the scheme; this could have disadvantageous effects on patients who experience chronic pain, such as in fibromyalgia, requiring them to pay large amounts to buy this drug outside of the scheme. Furthermore, not all patients may be aware of what medications fall under the PBS – particularly in more deprived or rural areas – potentially resulting in them paying large amounts towards the programme unnecessarily.