60 Day prescriptions are saving millions. Why aren’t more Australians getting them?

A landmark government policy designed to slash the cost of medicines for millions of Australians is falling well short of its potential because GPs and pharmacists have been slow to adopt it, new research has found.

The study, published today in the Medical Journal of Australia, examined uptake of Australia's 60-day dispensing policy for blood pressure medicines in the two years since it launched in September 2023.

It found that despite clear financial benefits for patients, the policy has reached only 21.2% of antihypertensive prescriptions, less than half the government's projected 45% uptake.

Patients taking antihypertensive medications saved approximately $65 million through 60-day prescribing in the first 20 months of the policy. But the researchers estimate that if uptake rose to 50%, annual savings from blood pressure medicines alone could reach $165 million for patients and $11.6 million for the government.

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The financial benefits for patients are substantial and well-established.
The challenge now is making sure those benefits actually reach people, and that requires action and support from GPs and pharmacists.

By:

Dr Tian Wang

Postdoctoral Research Fellow at The George Institute for Global Health

In interviews with 20 GPs across New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland, the researchers found significant variation in how the policy was being used. Eight GPs proactively offered 60-day prescriptions, six only did so if patients asked, and five rarely or never prescribed them.

The two main barriers GPs identified were difficulty keeping track of which medicines were eligible for 60-day supply, and reports that pharmacists were discouraging the longer prescriptions.

Some GPs also struggled with prescribing software that defaulted to 30-day dispensing, making 60-day prescriptions a manual workaround rather than standard practice.

Four pharmacists interviewed for the study raised concerns about incorrect dispensing and potential medicine shortages if 60-day supply became more widespread. One pharmacist also cited lost income as a concern for pharmacy owners.

The government introduced the Additional Community Supply Support (ACSS) payment program in April 2024 to offset the financial impact on pharmacies, at a cost of $46.5 million between April 2024 and April 2025. While the policy generated $87 million in gross PBS savings over the study period, the ACSS payment reduced the government's net saving to $0.3 million. The primary financial beneficiaries of the policy to date have been patients.

• The researchers say that the results from this study indicate that further action may be needed to change prescribing behaviour. The government should consider:
• Promoting 60-day prescriptions to patients as a way to save money and reduce prescription refills
• Promoting 60-day prescribing to GPs for eligible medicines to ensure they are aware of the policy change
• Working with GP software providers to make 60-day prescribing the default option for GPs for eligible medicines
• Highlighting to pharmacists the benefits to consumers and the availability of the ACSS payments to support 60-day prescribing

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Most patients are still on 30-day prescriptions simply because their GP has not yet made the switch.
Updating prescribing software is one of the most straightforward changes that could make a real difference.

By:

Dr Tian Wang