Â鶹Éçmadou
Medicine & Health School of Population Health

60-Day Dispensing Policy: impact and outcomes

Female doctor hand holding blurred medical bottle and writing prescription form to patient at hospital or clinic. Pharmaceutical care, pain management and healthcare concept. Selective focus.

Our Research Program

Background

In September 2023, the Australian Government Department of Health and Aged Care introduced an initiative under the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) to allow certain medicines to be dispensed for a 60-day supply instead of the usual 30 days. This change aims to provide patients with stable, ongoing health conditions more convenience and cost savings. The changes were implemented in 3 tranches over 12 months (1 September 2023, 1 March 2024, 1 September 2024). As of September 2024, nearly 300 medicines are eligible for 60-day prescriptions, including treatments for conditions like asthma, depression, and glaucoma.

This initiative is designed to reduce the frequency of pharmacy visits, lower out-of-pocket costs, and improve medication adherence for patients. Prescribers use their clinical judgment to determine if a patient qualifies for a 60-day prescription. There is limited evidence from other countries about the clinical, health service and economic impact of longer prescriptions.

Aims

MI-CRE is initiating a program of research across our network to evaluate the impact of this policy intervention. Initially, we aim to describe:

  • trends in uptake of 60-day dispensing
  • characteristics of people dispensed 30-day and 60-day PBS items
  • changes in medication adherence
  • changes in GP and pharmacy visit frequency
  • changes in out-of-pocket costs

This initial descriptive study will utilise the PBS 10% sample, a standardised dataset of national dispensing claims provided by the Australian Government Services Australia for analytical use.

Outcomes and significance

This research will give insight into the short-term outcomes of the PBS 60-day dispensing listing changes. The results will inform further research using linked administrative data, providing more detailed analyses of health service utilisation and clinical outcomes. They will also inform evaluation of the listing change policy. We will report our findings to the Department of Health and Aged Care and the Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee, as well as in scientific publications.

Projects

This program of work will be undertaken through a series of individual projects across the MI-CRE network.ÌýInformation about each of the projects will be added to this page at regular intervals.Ìý

  • Team members

    • Juliana de Oliveira Costa – Â鶹Éçmadou (Lead)
    • Tamara Milder – Â鶹Éçmadou
    • ÌýJialing Lin - Â鶹Éçmadou
    • ÌýMichael Falster – Â鶹Éçmadou
    • ÌýChrianna Bharat –Â鶹ÉçmadouÌý
    • ÌýJack Janetzki – UniSA
    • ÌýAlice Gibson –USyd
    • ÌýStella Talic – Monash University
    • ÌýNicole Pratt – UniSA
    • ÌýSallie Pearson – Â鶹Éçmadou

    Ìý

    Who’s using the new 60-day dispensing policy for type 2 diabetes?

    This research project is exploring how Australians with type 2 diabetes are benefiting from the change to 60-day dispensing; many diabetes medicines have been included in the policy from March 2024.Ìý

    This policy change could save some patients almost $190 a year, especially for newer, more effective treatments for type 2 diabetes, such as with Jardiance® (empagliflozin) and Forxiga® (dapagliflozin). They can also cut down on trips to the pharmacy and visits to the doctor. But it is still unknown how widely the new option is being taken up—or by whom.

    Using national data, we will examine how many people with type 2 diabetes are using 60-day dispensings, how much they’re saving, the impact on trips to the pharmacy and to doctors, and who is missing out. The ultimate goal of this research is to support increased and more affordable access to medicines for everyone living with diabetes in Australia.

    Research Aims

    In this study, we will:

    • Quantify how many people with type 2 diabetes are receiving 60-day dispensings for medicines to treat diabetes.
    • Identify which groups (by age, gender, location, and other characteristics) are switching from 30- to 60-day dispensings for medicines to treat diabetes.
    • Estimate changes in out-of-pocket costs of medicines before and after switching from 30- to 60-day dispensing.
    • Estimate changes in the number and time between pharmacy and doctor visits before and after switching from 30- to 60-day dispensing.
    • Explore geographic differences in uptake across Australia.

    Data Sources

    MI-CRE researchers will leverage two national data sources for this research:

    • The Australian Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) 10% Sample Data – a representative 10% sample of dispensing claims of medicines Australians and permanent residents eligible for subsidised PBS-medicines (Read more about theÌýÌýand thisÌý).
    • Australian Bureau of Statistics Person Level Integrated Data Asset (PLIDA) – which includes detailed sociodemographic, health service claims and medicine dispensing claims (Read more aboutÌý).

    Outcomes and significance

    This research will help to improve access and affordability of diabetes treatment across Australia. By studying who is and isn’t using the new 60-day dispensing, we can highlight gaps and ensure no one is missing out—especially people in disadvantaged areas or with lower incomes.

    We will use powerful national data to identify the populations who aren’t yet benefiting from this policy. The results will help guide targeted action, like encouraging doctors to offer 60-day prescriptions in places where uptake is low.Ìý

    To maximise impact, we will share results widely—not just with researchers, but with communities, policymakers, healthcare professionals, and diabetes organisations.Ìý

60-Day Dispensing Dashboard

The dashboard below has been created by Kelly Hall, one of our PhD Scholars at University of South Australia. The dashboard provides a visual display of trends in dispensing for medicines that can be dispensed for 60 days under the PBS. There is a 3-month time lag in the data available, however all medicines eligible for 60-day dispensings have been included.