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Behind the cacophony from the pharmacy sector in recent days, the reality is that the pandemic has been very good for chemists.

If there was any doubt about their role as the frontline providers of healthcare in Australia that’s surely been shelved. More so than ever, the local chemist has shown itself as the backbone of the community.

In the early days of COVID, GPs moved to telehealth, but it was the chemist that was open after regular business hours dispensing the medicine. As a primary contact for many who were locked down in quarantine the chemist sometimes stepped in to help with grocery supplies.

Today it’s where you get your COVID booster shot and of course your rapid antigen test kit.

Yet a quick glance at the news reveals a flurry of complaints about the time spent having to tell people there are no COVID tests available and even complaints that letting supermarkets, petrol stations and the like handle supply rob chemists of their supply.

The latter argument is nonsense, harking back to the Pharmacy Guild wanting to restrict the supply of chemist shops to one every 1.5 kilometres.

The frustrations are understandable and yet more evidence of lack of planning and execution by a frankly incompetent Morrison government. Every week we are told next week will be better because there’ll be another 3 million tests — but next week never seems to come.

Most people would rather buy their RATs from a chemist because there is a sense of trust, which isn’t there when the same person is selling you petrol or cereal. That at least is what chemists are saying, with some considerable justification in the COVID era.

As much as it may be frustrating having staff tied up telling people you don’t have any RATs, those with the tests appear to be doing quite nicely. Last week the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) said the average wholesale price was between $4 and $8 a test but ran as high as $11.45.

The federal government provides rebates of $10 a test so on the ACCC numbers the chemist is making a buck before he or she puts on a retail margin.

The ACCC will issue another update this week but on the basis of last week’s data claims that wholesale prices are as high as $17 are yet to be supported by the regulator.   

The tests are also a drawcard to get people into stores which means they may buy other over-the-counter items which also attract a hefty profit margin.

Chemists do have a point when it comes to vaccines given a GP gets paid $34.55 for administering the same dose as a chemist who gets only $26. This is clearly unfair to the chemist who has proved her worth to help ease the government’s embarrassment for the delays in getting the vaccines in the first place.

Health Minister Greg Hunt has defended the indefensible by saying it is the first time pharmacies have got anything for administering vaccines, so they should be grateful for what they get. That is nonsense. Pharmacies operate on longer hours and have helped fill the gaps left by government and GP clinics and should be paid the same money.

The Pharmacy Guild is the master player long regarded as being the best lobbying outfit in Canberra. It acts for pharmacy owners, whereas the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia speaks for pharmacists who are the trained professionals working in the shop but who maybe don’t own the store.

The guild is keen to ensure owner rights are protected by anti-competitive restrictions on supply which is why it didn’t want Woolworths to buy Australian Pharmaceutical Industries, the owners of the Priceline Pharmacy chain. It’s also why the guild claims only chemists should be selling COVID tests. If the local supermarket had people in white coats dispensing drugs many local pharmacies would struggle.

This is also why the pandemic has been a boon to chemists justifying their frontline role in the health supply chain.

As an aside, the AMA has done a superb job in marketing itself to the government and public as the official spokesperson for doctors. Australian Medical Association has a ring about it. But its annual report shows 16% of the members are doctors in training, 34.8% are medical students, and just 45% are GPs and specialists.

By contrast the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners has 40,000 urban and rural GPs as members, and to be a GP you become part of the college.

There are 15 medical colleges in Australia. They are responsible for training future specialists and clinical standard setting and as such genuinely comprise medical professions in the different fields.