The Australian Medical Association (AMA) has a strong interest in ensuring the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) remains sustainable. The PBS plays a very important role in the health financing jigsaw and is a key instrument for providing access to affordable medicines for Australians.

The AMA appreciates that the prospective ageing of the Australian population poses challenges for all elements of the health delivery and financing systems. It is important that the PBS be sustainable and affordable to the nation as a whole, as well as giving individuals timely and affordable access to medicines.

The AMA believes the arrangements promulgated by the Fourth Community Pharmacy Agreement should not stand in the way of improvements in the way medicines are distributed. In that regard, it does expect electronic prescribing to become the normal with electronic transmission of scripts to a pharmacy of the patient's choice. The AMA concurs in the Department's assessment that electronic claiming for benefits will become more popular.