Are you a young woman who deals with a complex and ongoing medical condition or several at the same time? Me too. In fact, it’s something a lot more of us go through than you think. If, like me, you loathe the regular trek to your doctor and pharmacy to get your scripts filled for medication you need, I’ve got good news (seriously, keep scrolling).
Since September 2023, a new government health initiative has been transforming the way many of us get prescriptions, offering 60-days’ worth of medication on a single script instead of 30. For some it is already saving valuable time, money and visits to the pharmacy and doctor. I don’t know about you, but personally, I’m a huge fan of anything that’s going to take some pressure off my mental load and make my life easier. What’s not to love?
This change can potentially halve visits to my GP and pharmacy and reduce my medication costs, — who knows what world domination I might be able to achieve with that extra time? Not only that, but reducing the number of accidental last minute refills is going to be way less stressful and means there’s less chance of going days without medication while we wait for a script to bridge the gap.
The changes apply to almost 200 medications available under the PBS (Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme) and will be particularly helpful for women living with conditions including:
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epilepsy
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breast cancer
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menopause (including premature and early menopause which occurs in younger women and those aged 40-45 years)
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type 2 diabetes
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Crohn’s disease
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ulcerative colitis
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arthritis
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high cholesterol
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hypertension
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incontinence
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migraine
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Bipolar disorder
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cardiovascular disease
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hypothyroidism
To qualify for a 60-day prescription, you must:
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live with a stable ongoing health condition
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have discussed your medication with your GP and be assessed as suitable
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have received a new 60-day prescription.
If you’re in the middle of a 30-day prescription, it won’t automatically roll over or stretch out to suddenly cover 60 days. You’ll need to actively make an appointment and make the change. Makes sense, right?
By making the change, managing your health becomes that much easier and more streamlined.
I know for me, the less I have to rely on appointments for the simple things like getting scripts renewed the less fatigued I am. Let’s face it, managing medical conditions can feel like and often is a full-time job in itself. Anything that’s going to ease that or save time and energy while making me feel more in control of my own life is a BIG victory in my book. Probably for you too.
All that’s left to do now is find out if you qualify. To do that, head on over to health.gov.au/cheapermedicines for more information and book a consultation with your GP today.
In partnership with the Australian Government, Canberra.