Question on how is humira dispensed in Sydney Australia

[Dontwanafuse]

Can any of the Australians of this forum tell me how Humira is dispensed in Sydney, I'm trying to get a idea of how the the prescription and pharmacy system handles, distribution of anti TNF drugs in Australia.

Thanks guys

 

[Catherine]

I think you would need get a gi to right a script for it. Whether could get approve for cover under Medicare is another issue. The drug would then be purchased from a chemist via script.

You should arrange to being as much medication as the Your system allows you.

Where are you from?

 

[DustyKat]

The system of dispensing Humira is the same Australia wide.

For those with Crohn’s and other inflammatory diseases the process is as follows:

• Application to Medicare Australia by the appropriate specialist. This involves the completion of a form that assesses your eligibility. I think you are from the UK? If so then this will likely be very similar to the NICE guidelines that need to be met in the UK.
• It takes about 3 weeks for the application to be reviewed and approved or denied. The initial approval is for 3 months. You are then reviewed by your specialist and evidence is required that you are responding to treatment. Approvals are then granted for 6 monthly periods. That means one month out from your script expiring you need to see the specialist for them to provide evidence of continuing response along with application for the next script.
• The script is sent from Medicare in Hobart to your postal address. The script can be taken to any pharmacy in any state, city or town and you are supplied with two pens/syringes, or whatever the monthly dosage is the specialist has prescribed.
• One months supply only will be dispensed.
• We have never tried to obtain pens in advance but generally this will not be allowed. It is not an issue if travelling around Australia as the PBS is a federally run system that operates Australia wide. I could fill a script in Sydney one month and then Perth the next.

 

[Dontwanafuse]

Thanks DustyKat. And yes I'm from the UK. in one post you have answered what months of online research couldn't. I really appreciate that. Do you have any idea how long it takes from the time you get the referel from a doctor to how long it takes to see a specialist? I'm trying to get a rough idea on how many pens to bring to cover myself. In my case it will be a rheumatologist.

Also how readily available is humira at pharmacies in Australia, and would the prescription be able to be emailed to me and printed? as I am planning on doing some moving around, just until I get settled.

 

[DustyKat]

It’s hard to say how long the wait would be as it can vary widely between speciality and location. I would search Rheumatologists in the location you will be in and email them explaining your condition and medication requirements and enquire about how long it takes to get an appointment. As you can imagine, city areas normally have shorter waiting lists than regional areas.

Pharmacies wouldn’t stock Humira as an on hand drug due to the cost. If a particular pharmacy has a number of clients on the drug then they will most likely have supplies on hand. However there is no reason it couldn’t be obtained by the next day in most areas or even the same day in the city if ordered before about 11am that day. Bear in mind that if you are going to more remote areas that are major distance from urban areas then the that could pan out to 2 or more days. I live in an inland rural area between Sydney and Brisbane, so about 600kms from both cities, and the pharmacy is able to order one day and receive the next.

You won’t be able to get around having the original script on hand to present to the pharmacist, so unfortunately snail mail will be your only option. Once you have that original script then you can have your initial fill and refills done anywhere.

 

[Dontwanafuse]

Thanks again Dustykat much appreciated

 

[Dontwanafuse]

Dustykat can you provide information on humira blood monitoring, how often? PBS covered? Does the doctor review bloods or specialist ?

 

[Catherine]

The standard bloods should be covered by Medicare.

My daughter's blood test were reviewed by the Specialist.

Either doctor should be able to order and review the blood tests.

 

[DustyKat]

In our case the specialist normally gives us blood referral requests at each visit with instructions as to their frequency. If all is stable then they are three monthly intervals. Bloods monitored at our end are:

• FBC
• UEC
• LFT’s
• CMP
• CRP
• TFT’s
• Coags
• FE Studies

At times I will request additional tests.

If you have a GP (you will need a GP to do a referral to a specialist. No referral = no appointment) then they too can order the same blood tests. If the specialist orders the tests he will cc the GP into them and vice versa but it would mostly be the specialist doing any actioning if required. You will find here that once you are referred to a specialist he/she will make the recommendations and it is the GP that does the leg work, IYKWIM, as most services feed back to the GP as the central point of continuity of care. Most doctors have a preferred pathology service that they use referral forms for but those requests are valid at any pathology service, not just name printed on the form. Same goes for radiology request forms.

All the tests listed above are covered by Medicare. So if you have a Medicare card you just present it to the receptionist at pathology. Most labs here are run independently of hospitals and as such are located in the community. The bloods can be done at either location.