News and Alerts

For your convenience, this section includes a summary of this month's important PBS changes.

For the full Schedule of Pharmaceutical Benefits, go to the PBS website at http://www.pbs.gov.au/ where you can search the schedule by drug name.

For Highly Specialised Drugs (HSD) items (CAR and non-CAR), refer to the Schedule of Pharmaceutical Benefits as well as Services Australia to confirm whether the PBS item code for a HSD is eligible to be dispensed and claimed by your pharmacy type.

18 December 2024: Fred Help Christmas and New Year Hours

Fred Help will be available during Christmas and New Year.

Happy Holidays! We suggest that you print out this calendar and display it prominently in your dispensary during the festive season. This will ensure that all of your staff are aware of the hours they can contact us, should they require support.

Please refer to the Fred Service Summary for reference.

DATE	FRED HELP OFFICE HOURS (AEDT)
Monday 23 December 2024	8:00 AM – 9:00 PM
Tuesday 24 December 2024 (Christmas Eve)	8:00 AM – 9:00 PM
Wednesday 25 December 2024 (Christmas Day)	8:00 AM – 6:00 PM (Emergencies Only)
Thursday 26 December 2024 (Boxing Day)	8:00 AM – 6:00 PM (Emergencies Only)
Friday 27 December 2024	8:00 AM – 9:00 PM
Saturday 28 December 2024	8:00 AM – 6:00 PM
Sunday 29 December 2024	8:00 AM –6:00 PM (Emergencies Only)
Monday 30 December 2024	8:00 AM – 9:00 PM
Tuesday 31 December 2024	8:00 AM – 9:00 PM
Wednesday 1 January 2025 (New Year's Day)	8:00 AM – 6:00 PM (Emergencies Only)
From Thursday 2 January 2025	Normal support hours

2 October 2024: Ready to discover a smarter way to handle scripts in your pharmacy?

We’re proud to bring you industry-first smart technology that will transform your pharmacy’s script workflow.

Introducing MedView Flow Digital Baskets – the new way to manage scripts that is safer, easier and faster than your pharmacy’s current manual system and bridges the gap between digital processes and existing use of plastic prescription baskets.

With flexible purchase options and low set up costs, it’s easy to upgrade Medview Flow to include Digital Baskets. Find out more at www.medview.com.au/digitalbaskets

22 February 2024: See you at APP2024!
We hope you can join us at APP2024 to chat about the latest innovative and practical features to optimise your pharmacy workflows, access clinical intelligence, and deliver patient services.
Find us at Stands 125 -126 (Fred) and 126-127 (MedView)
You can also catch the Fred hosted Business Session, ‘Do we need Artificial Intelligence to serve customers better?’ on Thursday.
When: Thursday, 14 March 2024 - 2.00pm - 2.45pm
Where: Arena 1A
Who: Paul Naismith & Regina Cowie, Fred IT Group

2023 - News and Alerts

24 October 2023: Emerging cyber security threats to your pharmacy
Presented at the Pharmacy Connect conference in September 2023 Fred's cyber security guru Andrew McManus explains the latest trends and emerging threats facing your pharmacy business.
- Who has access to your data? Supply chain attack (3 mins)
- Emerging threats - Artificial Intelligence (6.5 mins)
- Impact of a data breach on a small business (5 mins)
- Common cyber attacks in pharmacies (6 mins)
  Watch the Videos
23 August 2023:Visit Fred at PC2023/PA2023, Sydney
We hope to see you and your team at this year’s combined Pharmacy Connect and Pharmacy Assistant Conferences. Visit Fred at stands 43 - 44 to learn about the latest innovations to support digital extension in your pharmacy.

Our cyber security session at Pharmacy Connect will focus on the current trends and emerging threats in the pharmacy industry. Andrew McManus will explore how the increased adoption of electronic prescriptions and digital health records has raised the risk of cyberattacks.

Cyber security trends and emerging threats - what it means for pharmacy

WHEN: Friday, 1 September | 12.15pm – 1.00pm

WHERE: Maritime Ballroom 2&3
23 August 2023:National Customer Experience Survey 2023 (Coming Soon!)
In mid-September, we will be launching the National Customer Experience Survey 2023. We would greatly appreciate your participation to help us understand how we can improve and where we are getting things right. We also want to continue delivering changes to our products and services based on your feedback. Your invitation to participate in the survey will arrive in your inbox in September.

24 April 2023:AJP | Pharmacies facing increase in ‘cyber activity’
In this interview with AJP, Andrew McManus, Fred’s general manager service delivery, addresses the rising threat cyber criminals pose to Australia’s community pharmacy network and how to defend against attacks by investing in your people, processes and technology. Watch Now

Fred can help you with any questions or concerns regarding cyber security in your pharmacy. Contact your Fred representative or reach us at sales@fred.com.au or 1800 888 828.

2022 - News and Alerts

Thank you for your continued support of Fred throughout 2022 as we celebrated our 30th anniversary of service to Australia’s pharmacists.

Read a letter to our customers from Paul Naismith, CEO.

21 December 2022: Fred Help Christmas and New Year Hours

Fred Help will be available on 1300 731 888 during Christmas and New Year.

We suggest that you print out this calendar and display it prominently in your dispensary during the festive season. This will ensure that all of your staff are aware of the hours they can contact us, should they require support.

DATE	FRED HELP OFFICE HOURS (AEDT)
Saturday 24 December 2022 (Christmas Eve)	8:30 AM – 5:00 PM
Sunday 25 December 2022 (Christmas Day)	8:30 AM – 5:00 PM (Emergencies Only)
Monday 26 December 2022 (Boxing Day)	8:30 AM – 5:00 PM
Tuesday 27 December 2022 (Public Holiday	8:30 AM – 5:00 PM
Wednesday 28 December 2022	8:30 AM – 9:00 PM
Thursday 29 December 2022	8:30 AM – 9:00 PM
Friday 30 December 2022	8:30 AM – 9:00 PM
Saturday 31 December 2022 (New Year's Eve)	8:30 AM – 5:00 PM
Sunday 1 January 2023 (New Year's Day)	8:30 AM – 5:00 PM
Monday 2 January 2023 (Public Holiday)	8:30 AM – 5:00 PM
From Tuesday 3rd January 2023	Normal support hours

24 August 2022: Find pharmacy Apps and integrations approved for Fred products
Fred Marketplace is the new hub making it easier for you to find the best third-party add-ons to optimise your business. The Fred Marketplace connects you to innovative solutions from industry-leading software developers, all tested and approved to work with your Fred products including Fred NXT and Fred Dispense Plus.
See you at Pharmacy Connect!
Catchup with the Fred & eRx teams at Pharmacy Connect Sydney, 1-3 Sep. Find us at Stands 6 & 7 to chat about connecting with the digital patient and growing your pharmacy. Learn more
1 August 2022: PBS News
News relating to PBS, including the Schedule of Pharmaceutical Benefits will no longer be published here in the Fred NXT Online Help. Instead, see News and Alerts in Fred Dispense Plus Online Help.

4 July 2022: Fee changes applicable from 1 July 2022

Fees

The following fees, patient contributions, and Safety Net thresholds apply from 1 July 2022 and are included, where applicable, in prices published in the Schedule.

Fee Type		Fee
Dispensing Fees	Ready-prepared	$7.82
	Dangerous drug fee	$4.84
	Extemporaneously-prepared	$9.86
	Allowable additional patient charge*	$4.54
Additional Fees (for safety net prices)	Ready-prepared	$1.31
Additional Fees (for safety net prices)	Extemporaneously-prepared	$1.68
Patient Co-payments	General	$42.50
Patient Co-payments	Concessional	$6.80
Safety Net Thresholds	General	$1457.10
Safety Net Thresholds	Concessional	$244.80
Safety Net Card Issue Fee		$10.65

* 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.

Chemotherapy fees

Fee Type		Fee
Section 90 Community Pharmacy (incl. section 92 approved practitioners)	Ready Prepared Dispensing Fee	$7.82
	Preparation Fee	$87.07
	Distribution Fee	$28.22
	Diluent Fee	$5.59
Section 94 Approved Private Hospital Authority	Ready Prepared Dispensing Fee	$7.82
	Preparation Fee	$87.07
	Distribution Fee	$28.22
	Diluent Fee	$5.59

1 July 2022: PBS Changes - July 2022
30 June: New tax deductions for pharmacy
Tax deductions are now available for small business’ for expenses supporting digital adoption - including portable payment devices, cyber security systems or subscriptions to cloud based services. For more information, see Small Business Technology Investment Boost on the ATO website.
See Fred Protect Plans

1 June 2022: PBS Changes - June 2022
1 June 2022: National Customer Experience Survey 2022
To better understand how we can improve as your pharmacy IT partner we are inviting our customers to complete an annual National Customer Experience Survey. Your perspective is important to us and even if you have not contacted us recently, we would appreciate any feedback you may have.
The survey is confidential, will take approximately 5 minutes to complete and is designed to capture what is most important to you and your business when working with our products and services.
The 2022 survey invitation was sent via email on 23 May to every Fred customer, however if you have not received this or would like to participate, please email helpdesk@fred.com.au and we will organise this for you.
1 May 2022: PBS Changes - May 2022
1 April 2022: PBS Changes - April 2022

1 January 2022: Fee Changes From 1 January 2022

The following PBS fee changes are effective from 1 January 2022:

Tier 1	For a maximum quantity of a listed brand with a price to pharmacists less than $100	$4.32 per dispense*
Tier 2	For a maximum quantity of a listed brand with a price to pharmacists from $100 to $2,000	$4.32, plus 5% of the amount by which the price to pharmacists exceeds $100, per dispense*
Tier 3	For a maximum quantity of a listed brand with a price to pharmacists more than $2,000	$99.32 per dispense*