The Pharmacy Guild of Australia is set to assume control of the Fifth Community Pharmacy Agreement (5CPA) programs currently managed by the Department of Human Services.

In a bid to ensure the sustainability of the programs in the face of constant budget blowouts, the Guild has enacted a number of changes to be implemented as of 1 March 2014.

• Accredited pharmacists and HMR service providers will be limited to delivering a maximum of 20 HMRs per calendar month.

• HMRs will need to be conducted within 90 days of the referral date from the GP.

• The timeframe between additional HMRs for a patient has been lifted from 12 to 24 months.

• Claims must be submitted within 30 days of the date of service (patient interview).

The full list of changes can be viewed at the 5CPA website.

MR Assist has been designed to accommodate these changes and alert pharmacists to impending deadlines and limitations.