OTC Scheduling System to be Retained

The Pharmacy Guild of Australia has welcomed news that their current medication scheduling system, including two separate over-the-counter (OTC) schedules, will be retained.

The Department of Health and Ageing’s National Coordinating Committee on Therapeutic Goods (NCCTG) has responded to the Guild’s submission on the need to retain the two OTC schedules – Pharmacy Medicines (S2) and Pharmacist Only Medicines (S3). The NCCTG acknowledged that a number of changes had occurred since the Galbally Review of Drugs, Poisons and Controlled Substances Legislation was published in 2001, which examined the need for continuing two separate schedules. These changes included widespread adoption of the Quality Care Pharmacy Program (QCPP) and the launch of QCPP 2nd edition in 2006, as well as continuing development of self-care concepts in the primary health care sector, and ongoing health workforce reforms, such as the Pharmacy Board of Australia and its new national standards and guidelines for pharmacists.

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