The Long and Winding Road – Pharmacy Reform in Australia

DESCRIPTION

CHERE is delighted to welcome Professor Stephen King to present a seminar on his experience as the Chair of the Productivity Commision's Review of Pharmacy Remuneration and Regulation. All are welcome, and lunch will be provided. Please email reception@chere.uts.edu.au with any dietary requirements.

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To register please head to: https://chere_seminar_king.eventbrite.com

Abstract:

The Review of Pharmacy Remuneration and Regulation was a key element of the 6th Community Pharmacy Agreement. The three-member Review Panel comprised an economist as Chair with one representative from the consumer health sector and one nominated by the pharmacy guild. The Review made 45 recommendations, covering the entire chain of medicine supply. 42 of the recommendations were unanimously supported by the Panel members, despite their disparate backgrounds. However, the government only accepted 4 of the recommendations with another 4 accepted-in-principle and the vast majority ‘noted’.

In this talk, the Chair of the Review Panel will outline how the Review went about its task, its analysis of the issues and why it believes that its recommendations can help transform health outcomes for Australians – albeit with the loss of some economic rents to the pharmacy owners who make up the Guild.

Speaker:

Stephen King is a Commissioner at Australia’s Productivity Commission and an adjunct Professor at Monash University. Prior to joining the Productivity Commission in July 2016, Stephen was a Member of the Western Australian Economic Regulation Authority, a Member of the National Competition Council and Professor of Economics at Monash University.

Professor King was Dean of the Faculty of Economics and Business at Monash University from 2009 to 2011. Prior to joining Monash, Stephen was a Member of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission from 2004 to 2009.

Stephen has researched and published widely in competition economics, regulation and industrial organization. He has advised numerous government agencies and private businesses and has provided expert testimony to the courts on regulation and competition economics.

Stephen received the University Medal from ANU for his undergraduate studies in Economics. He also has a Masters in Economics from Monash University and a PhD from Harvard University. He is a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences in Australia and a Lay Member of the High Court of New Zealand.