July 2016

News

In this issue

PDL Warning

The following warning from PDL will appear when selecting a Perindopril/Amlodipine combination of the 5mg/10mg or 10mg/5mg strengths:

AHI Fee changes

The following fees, patient contributions and safety net thresholds apply as at 1 July 2016.

Fee Type		Fee
Dispensing Fees	Ready-prepared	$7.02
	Dangerous drug fee	$2.95
	Extemporaneously-prepared	$9.06
	Allowable additional patient charge*	$4.33
Additional Fees (for safety net prices)	Ready-prepared	$1.19
	Extemporaneously-prepared	$1.55
Patient Co-payments	General	$38.30
	Concessional	$6.20
Safety Net Thresholds	General	$1475.70
	Concessional	$372.00
Safety Net Card Issue Fee		$9.61

* The allowable additional patient charge is a discretionary charge to general patients if a pharmaceutical item has a dispensed price for maximum quantity less than the general patient co-payment. The pharmacist may charge general patients the allowable additional fee but the fee cannot take the cost of the prescription above the general patient co-payment for the medicine. This fee does not count towards the Safety Net threshold.

Dispense Incentive

The Dispense Incentive has increased to $1.74 from 1 July 2016 for eligible items.

Automation of AHI Tier 2 Payments

The Department of Human Services-Medicare has automated the full payment of all AHI Tier 2 fees on 25 June 2016.

Current AHI process for 3.5% component of Tier 2

All PBS prescriptions for Maximum Quantity are automatically processed for payment via PBS Online. For prescriptions that are not for Maximum Quantity, the 3.5% variable component has been paid as a separate manual bulk adjustment.

Full AHI fees will be automatically processed via PBS Online from 25 June 2016

Medicare has advised that from 25 June 2016, the full AHI fee, including the 3.5% component, will be automatically processed and paid via PBS Online for all PBS prescriptions dispensed from 1 May 2016.

Transition from manual bulk adjustment to payment via PBS Online

Pharmacies do not have to do anything to initiate the transition process.

However, to ensure payment for all eligible manual bulk adjustment claims, members have a deadline of 31 July 2016 to submit a closed claim transaction for claims for PBS prescriptions dispensed prior to 1 May 2016.

Closed claim transaction notification

The closed claim transaction notification is received at the time of closing the claim. This informational message is visible until it is cleared from Fred Dispense Messenger.

Like all other informational messages, once it is acknowledged and cleared by the user, it can no longer be reviewed via the user interface within Fred dispense.

Enquiries about the arrangements should be directed to PBS general enquiries on 132 290.

IVF Changes effective 1 July 2016

From 1 July 2016, the following changes in Fred Dispense will take effect for in-vitro fertilisation or GIFT drugs.

New Status

IVF drugs now have a Status of V (Section 100 IVF/GIFT).

New Drug Type

IVF drugs now have a Drug Type of IVF.

Reproductive Technology Advisory Committee (RTAC) numbers

From 1 April 2016, the RTAC number of the prescriber must be entered in order to dispense an IVF drug on the PBS.

The RTAC number is sent to PBS Online for validation.

If no RTAC number is entered (i.e. left blank), the following prompt is displayed. Select Yes to dispense the script privately, or select

No to go back.

The RTAC number is now displayed on the script label.

Malicious emails are on the rise

What might malicious emails look like?

Malicious emails are disguised as seemingly innocent day-to-day notifications about:

• parcel delivery details
• email account closures
• banking information
• requests for help
• traffic infringement notices
• unsolicited resumes
• delayed instant messages

Scams: Some malicious emails are scams that attempt to fraudulently acquire personal information from you (such as your account password or credit card information) – known as phishing scams.

Viruses: Other emails contain viruses that will be stopped by your Anti-Virus software. Ensure that you have the most up-to-date anti-virus running on your PCs. Speak to your Fred account manager to find out more on 1800 888 828.