Andrew Sirianni

FRANK SIRIANNI, Management Consultant, MEDICI CAPITAL (www.medici.com.au)

Substantial amendments to the "Pharmacy Location Rules" were announced on Tuesday 27 September 2011. These changes took effect from 18 October 2011. The first applications that can be submitted to Medicare will be heard at the Australian Community Pharmacy Authority (ACPA) meeting on 25 November 2011.

The National Health (Australian Community Pharmacy Authority Rules) Determination 2006, which outlines the current "Pharmacy Location Rules", will be replaced by The National Health (Australian Community Pharmacy Authority Rules) Determination 2011. The Department of Health & Ageing has also issued an updated Applications Handbook which is available on the Department's website.

Recent market activity has suggested a slow down in pharmacy sales over the last 2 years.  However, the slow down has not resulted in a reduction in the prices being paid for pharmacies.

Medici Capital's Frank Sirianni discussed at this year's APP Conference that research by Medici Capital has indicated that the level of pharmacy sales is at around 40% of what it was a number of years ago - resulting in limited opportunities becoming available on the market.  However, the prices being paid for pharmacies have not pegged back.

Recent activity on the Medici Capital stand at the 2011 APP Conference indicates that strong demand for pharmacies still exists.

We had a number of pharmacists approach us at the Practice4Sale stand, intent on purchasing a pharmacy in the near future.  Many of these were existing pharmacy owners looking for a specific site.  However, there were also a number of pharmacists keen to purchase their first business.

These interested parties possessed a varying level of understanding/experience in relation to the purchase of a pharmacy.  Some had been through the process before, while to others it was a totally new experience.

The Pfizer announcement late last year, of its intention to distribute directly to pharmacy through DHL, has created quite a stir in the industry.  Feedback from pharmacists and the wholesalers has been predominantly negative, and many were vocal in their condemnation of the move at conference sessions.

However, despite the obvious negative results to wholesaling companies, there is limited anecdotal evidence of the resultant impact to pharmacy practices.  In an open forum, Dr Martin Cross referred to pharmacists to determine the outcome of the Pfizer move - indicating that the response of pharmacists will determine if the Pfizer move is a success or not.

The Pfizer announcement late last year, of its intention to distribute directly to pharmacy through DHL, has created quite a stir in the industry.  Feedback from pharmacists and the wholesalers has been predominantly negative, and many were vocal in their condemnation of the move at conference sessions.

However, despite the obvious negative results to wholesaling companies, there is limited anecdotal evidence of the resultant impact to pharmacy practices.  In an open forum, Dr Martin Cross referred to pharmacists to determine the outcome of the Pfizer move - indicating that the response of pharmacists will determine if the Pfizer move is a success or not.