Related Experiment Video
Updated: Apr 1, 2026
Digital Home-Monitoring of Patients after Kidney Transplantation: The MACCS Platform
Published on: April 12, 2021
Uptake and Costs of the 60-Day Dispensing Policy for Antihypertensive Medicines in Australia: A Mixed Methods Study
Tian Wang1, Huy L Nguyen2, Isabella Tan1
1The George Institute for Global Health, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
Objectives:
To evaluate the uptake of a new 60-day dispensing policy for antihypertensive medicines and estimated cost savings compared with conventional 30-day dispensing; and to explore general practitioner and pharmacist perspectives on the new policy.
Study Design:
Mixed methods design; analysis of Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) dispensing claims from 1 September 2023 to 30 April 2025; and semi-structured interviews with 20 general practitioners and four pharmacists from 13 June 2024 to 24 September 2024 to gauge their perspectives on 60-day dispensing.
Setting, Participants:
General practitioners and pharmacists practising in New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland, Australia.
Main Outcome Measure:
Antihypertensive prescription volumes; patient and government cost savings; and perceptions of the policy from general practitioners and pharmacists.
Results:
The 60-day antihypertensive prescription volume increased from 75,500 to 877,700 over 20 months, accounting for 21.2% of all antihypertensive dispensing by 30 April 2025. We estimate the total cost savings for patients were up to ~$65 million, and the government saved ~$87 million and paid pharmacies ~$86.7 million via the Additional Community Supply Support (ACSS) payment program, with a net effect of ~$0.3 million. In interviews, general practitioners indicated varied utilisation of 60-day prescriptions, with some actively providing 60-day prescriptions, but some rarely or not at all. Barriers included keeping abreast of eligible and ineligible medicines for 60-day prescriptions and perceived resistance from pharmacists. Pharmacists were concerned about incorrect dispensing and potential medication shortages.
Conclusion:
At 20 months after the introduction of the new policy, 21.2% of antihypertensive prescriptions were for 60-day dispensing. The slow uptake is likely due to low uptake among general practitioners and resistance from pharmacists. The 60-day policy has demonstrated substantial financial savings for patients. If uptake of 60-day dispensing increased to 50%, annual savings from antihypertensive medicines could rise to up to ~$165 million for patients and ~$11.6 million for the government.
Related Concept Videos
01:24Drug Accumulation During Multiple Dosing: Intermittent IV Infusions
01:26Oral Drug Delivery Systems: Continuous-Release Systems
01:02Prescription, Nonprescription and Orphan Drugs
The misuse and addiction to prescription drugs is a growing problem that can affect people of all age groups, specifically teenagers. This can happen when prescription medications are used in ways not intended by the prescriber, such as taking someone else's prescription or using medication for...
01:15Chronopharmacokinetics: Circadian Rhythms and Influence on Drug Response
The time of drug administration is an important factor to consider, as it can influence the toxic dose of a drug. For example, a study conducted by Prins et al. in 1997 examined the effects of the timing of...
00:59Model-Independent Approaches for Pharmacokinetic Data: Noncompartmental Analysis
One important characteristic of noncompartmental analyses is that drug exposure increases proportionally with increasing doses. This...
01:15Drug Dosage Regimen: Overview
Typically, the starting dose and dosing interval are guided by the manufacturer's recommendations based on clinical trials conducted during and after drug...