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The Grattan Institute released a report arguing that the Pharmacy Guild of Australia has too much power over where pharmacies can be opened, how they run, the cost of medications and the services pharmacists can provide. As a result, Australians are paying more for medicines than they should.
Grattan’s key recommendation is to “remove restrictions on where new pharmacies can be established, including allowing pharmacies in supermarkets”.
“When other countries did the same two decades ago, it resulted in more pharmacies, longer opening hours and, in several cases, lower prices”, Peter Breadon from the Grattan Institute wrote in The Australian newspaper last week.
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About the author
Leith van Onselen is Chief Economist at the MB Fund and MB Super. He is also a co-founder of MacroBusiness.
Leith has previously worked at the Australian Treasury, Victorian Treasury and Goldman Sachs.
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