You can find further information on the following pages FAQ’s or How to Order, or by contacting a Senior Health Account Manager.

• Our Pharmacists

• Pharmacist Only Medication

• Prescription Medication

• Price Categories  

• Medication Management

• Repeat Dispensing

• Special Conditions

Our pharmacists – trusted professionals

Because we know there’s more to managing your health than taking medication, our dedicated Pharmeasy pharmacists are here to help you with the rest of what you need.

Pharmeasy is proud of its reputation for being responsive, reliable and for the friendliness and expertise of our pharmacists. All of our pharmacists are trusted professionals with many years of experience.

We provide quality and accurate dispensing, recommend costs savings where we can and ensure fast and reliable turnaround from order to delivery.

Based on the information you have disclosed to us in regards to your General Health and wellbeing, our pharmacists will ensure that we are able to identify any potential drug, health or allergic interactions. Our pharmacists maintain a full prescription history.

Pharmeasy strives to ensure you have the best and most professional care possible aimed at improving your health and well-being. You can assist us to achieve this objective by being familiar with our products and services. It is also important that you keep us informed about changes in your health status, personal details, allergies, carer, your preferred delivery address and contact details.

This will enable us to maintain our services to you at the highest possible level.

Pharmeasy's registered pharmacy is located at 5 Lawndale Avenue, North Rocks, NSW 2151.
 

Pharmacist Only Medication

Legislation in Australia deems that “pharmacist only medication” requires personal face to face counselling by a pharmacist on sale of the item. As Internet and mail order pharmacy does not provide this, a prescription will enable a Doctor to provide appropriate counselling.

By seeing your Doctor and getting a prescription, this means that your Doctor has determined that there is a therapeutic need for that particular medication and has provided the appropriate counselling regarding its use and any potential side effects.

Prescription Medication

In accordance with Australian regulations, Pharmeasy can only dispense prescription medicine on receipt of the original Australian prescription. All prescriptions must be mailed to us before we can dispense your medication. (Faxes cannot be accepted.) There are no exceptions to this. Additionally, australian prescription medications cannot be sent overseas.

Our forwarding address is:

Pharmeasy
Reply Paid 9865
Sydney NSW 2001
(No postage stamp required)

Due to our professional obligations and interests in providing you with the best possible health outcomes, you may provide us with some medical history about yourself. This will ensure there is lessened risk of any potential drug interaction or adverse reaction to your medication.

Price Categories

Australia’s Health system states that individuals may pay different prices for their prescriptions. The price you will pay depends on your entitlements.

The different price categories are:-

• PBS / NHS,
• Private,
• Concession
• Safety Net.

Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme.(PBS/ NHS) The majority of Australians are entitled to receive Government subsidised medications through the Pharmaceutical Benefit Scheme (PBS). For most prescriptions the fee is currently $30.70. In a small number of cases a Government surcharge may apply for more expensive brands of medication. PBS prices for medications are set by the Government and cannot be discounted under any circumstances. In some cases a special authority prescription may be required for an individual to receive PBS subsidised medication.

Private prescriptions. Some medications are not subsidised by the Government through the Pharmaceutical Benefit Scheme. In these cases the member must pay for the full amount of the prescription.  It is Pharmeasy’s goal to source such products for you on the most cost effective basis. Many private prescriptions can be claimed against private health insurance (contact your fund for more details). We also maintain a full prescription history – making it easier for you to retrieve all of your expenditure information to make appropriate claims. In addition we can provide you with receipts to assist in making your claims with your Health Funds (where applicable)

Concession cards. Holders of Pension, Health Care and Veteran Affairs cards will generally be charged a much lower fee for PBS prescriptions. For most prescriptions this fee is currently $4.90. In a small number of cases, a Government surcharge may apply for more expensive brands of a medication. This can usually be avoided by electing to use a generic equivalent to the expensive brand.

Safety net. For PBS items, Pharmeasy will maintain a record of all your eligible safety net expenditure with us and advise you when you have reached your safety net entitlement.

Safety Net Threshold
The levels for 2006 are:

• General Patients: $1,059.00*- after which a safety net card will be issued allowing PBS prescriptions to be charged at $4.90* each for the rest of the calendar year

• Concession Card Holders (pensions, health care card, veteran affairs, etc) 54 prescriptions or $274.40 – after which a safety net card will be issued allowing NHS prescriptions to be free* for the rest of the calendar year.
   

• *These figures are adjusted annually and do not include surcharges for the more expensive alternative brands/medicines*

Medication Management

If you or your loved ones take ongoing regular medication, it can be all too easy to forget when your repeats are due, particularly if you require a number of prescription items at different times. Sometimes you may be too busy or too unwell to collect your medications when you need to.

At times, it’s just nice to have someone looking after your medication needs – reminding you when your repeats are due, keeping your medication records handy when it comes time to make a claim and being there to answer any medical concerns you may have – in privacy and only a phone call away – that’s why at Pharmeasy we provide a FREE secure and convenient Medication Management service to our Members.

We hold all your prescriptions for you so you'll never have to worry about where they are!

At Pharmeasy we will retain your original prescription, which helps you to manage your prescription medication needs.

We will also securely maintain your medication records for safety net, private health cover and taxation purposes - making it easier for you to retrieve the information and to make appropriate claims.

All Pharmeasy members will be provided with medication supply summaries which detail every delivery, the number of days supply dispensed and the number of remaining repeats available. This statement will let you know when you are due to return to your doctor for another prescription. It remains your responsibility to take medications as prescribed and inform us about any changes that may occur to your medication regime. 

Not only do we remind you when you need to have your repeat medication dispensed, but we will also alert you, when your last prescription item has been dispensed and remind you to visit your doctor.

There are special challenges you face when living with ongoing medical needs. With Pharmeasy, those daily challenges can seem a little less difficult.

Join the many people that have made Pharmeasy their trusted choice in pharmacy! Join Now

Repeat Dispensing

Due to Australian Legislation we cannot dispense multiple quantities of PBS items ($29.50 or $4.70) unless certain other conditions apply. EG. Your Doctor provides you with a marked Regulation 24 or Authority prescription.
If you need multiple quantities for a special reason (eg. going overseas) please contact a Senior Health Account Manager,  and we will be more than happy to assist.

Authority Prescriptions

An authority prescription is required when the medication being sought has special requirements associated with its use. It is generally for an increased quantity or for a longer duration than a normal prescription, and consists of only one item per prescription.

An authority prescription must have an authority number and a phone approval number or a stamp (for mailed requests) for it to be considered valid.

Some items which are subsidised by the PBS to treat special conditions require an authority prescription. If you do not qualify for the conditions as stated by the government, the private price will apply.

Regulation 24

Provided that your Doctor is satisfied that you meet the criteria, a Regulation 24 prescription can be issued. Under this regulation the original and repeat supplies of pharmaceutical benefits can be supplied all at once. It is an all or nothing dispensing.

Safety Net - 20 Day Rule

There are arrangements in place that allow the early dispensing of a repeat PBS prescription, if you need to continue your treatment. By contacting a Senior Health Account Manager  we can arrange for you to discuss this with a Pharmacist.

The new Safety Net - 20 day rule requires that for certain PBS medicines a repeat supply of the same medicine will fall outside the Safety Net.

This means that:

·        The cost will not count towards your Safety Net threshold

·        If the Safety Net threshold has been reached for the calendar year, the cost will be your usual PBS contribution – not the reduced Safety Net amount.

·        The most you will pay for the early resupplies is your usual PBS rate.

For more information about the PBS and PBS Safety Net:

Call the PBS information line – Free Call : 1800 020 613

Internet: www.health.gov.au/pbs

Email: pbs@health.gov.au           

Special Conditions

Medicare Card Number

Government regulations require you to provide your full Medicare number and Medicare expiry date when you request your prescription, if that prescription is entitled to a PBS benefit.