Lanny Wong: Mangawhai Pharmacy Director on Government letting pharmacists prescribe funded medicines for common conditions

Pharmacists appear ready for an increased workload under a proposed expansion of services.

The Government's considering letting pharmacists prescribe funded medicines for common conditions like scabies and head lice, as well as for UTIs and the emergency contraceptive pill.

Until now, people have needed a GP prescription or had to pay the medication's full pharmacy price.

Mangawhai Pharmacy Director Lanny Wong told Ryan Bridge pharmacists treat these conditions already, people just have to pay.

She says it's nothing new but demand will likely increase.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Pharmacists have been given more powers. This is to help
take the pressure off GP, so you're able to do
more at the pharmacy that you don't need to do
with your doctor. They'll be able to hand out more
meds over the counter. This is your kid's cold and
flu medicine, your antibiotics, treatment for scabies. Even Lanny Wang
is director of Lanny Wang forgive me as director of
Manga PI Pharmacy, joins me this morning and a good morning.

Speaker 2 (00:21):
Good morning.

Speaker 1 (00:22):
Is what will this do to a workload for a
pharmacy or is it a good part a good problem
to have.

Speaker 2 (00:29):
Yes, there is definitely a good problem to have. Yes,
certainly there will be something that will increase our workload. However,
in saying that, all the condition that was announced yesterday
are things that pharmacy pharmacists already do, so you know,
it means it's nothing new for us. It's just business
as usual. However, I think we anticipate demand will probably

(00:50):
increase if the message get out that people can access
the service for free from the pharmacy and access medicine
for free, that that will be a huge help for
some family.

Speaker 1 (01:01):
So if I do parents just come to you with
their sick kids anyway and say what do I do?

Speaker 2 (01:06):
Yeah, they actually do, like you know, all the condition
that was announced, like you know, pain and fever for children,
oral rehydration, fluids, scabies, headline, conjuncti biders, all those things
parents already come in. Especially you know, scavy is probably
one that's really really handy to be access that in
the fancy for example. You know, if if there's a
scavy outbreak, it tends to impact a lot of people.

(01:28):
Like you know, even if you don't have the condition,
you're supposed to treat yourself for it and treat the
entire family to make sure you can eradicate the whole thing.
So being able to access that conveniently from a pharmacy
is actually very helpful for that type of condition because
this is.

Speaker 1 (01:42):
The real changes and that it's not so much that
people are coming to you with new things, it's that
you'll be able to directly give them the funded medicines.

Speaker 2 (01:51):
That's absolutely correct. Yeah, you know, like the one that
uncomplicated UTI. That's one that's always been a bad bug
of mine because you know, I have to charge for
my service, not a free service. And over the years,
you know, that i've been providing the service, I've had
plenty of women cright in front of me because they
couldn't afford the fee and things like that. So this
will be a real game changer for women, for women's health,

(02:14):
and it means they can access this at a funded rate,
at what they'll get from a GP. But you know
it's a game changer for mom and dad as well.
You know a lot of mom and dad do bypass
the pharmacy and go straight to GP because they can
bring your children to see the GP for free, and
then when they get their prescription, they can collect it
for free. So all of that can happen in the
commune pharmacy. Conjunct dividers is another one. You know, if

(02:37):
you've ever been called home by your daycare because your
child's got conjunct dividers, you know that's that's another If
you can't afford to pay for the medicine, then that's
what parents do. They take them to the GP because
it's free to see the GP, and then when they
get the description is free. You know, the prescription is free.
But if you go straight to a pharmacy, that's not
the case at the moment.

Speaker 1 (02:57):
How do you how do you guys make most of
your money as it from selling makeup and sunscreen and stuff.

Speaker 2 (03:03):
Yeah, we we make we make our money from dispensing
and yes, all the other products helps. You know, you know,
pharmacy is a unique place. We do have the rights
to sell medicine. So yeah, if I had to say
what we make most of money is that we do.
We do sell products and that's how we make money.

(03:23):
And that is, I guess, you know, a privilege that
all pharmacy have that you know, and that's why you
see pharmacy and you know the most remote places of
New Zealand like parking a tour you know, like it's
it's it's the only way you know, you can get
health services to an area, to a rare, remote area

(03:44):
that serves the community. Because you know, we we you know,
we do. We do realize that we have the privilege
to sell products that other people couldn't and you know,
in some ways it's a it's a system that you know,
allow health service to exist and in places that it's
challenging tapers.

Speaker 1 (04:01):
Lanny Wong Mang of five Farmers, You appreciate your time
this morning, and that's why you won't get your Big
Himus Weirhouse going, and places like Pie Here tour for.

Speaker 2 (04:09):
More from Early Edition with Ryan Bridge.

Speaker 1 (04:11):
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