On behalf of the Department of Health and Aged Care, AHA administers claims and payments for the 28 community pharmacy programs funded under the Eighth Community Pharmacy Agreement (8CPA).

AHA administers all registrations, claims and payments for 28 programs funded under the 8CPA. Programs administered by AHA include the following.

Medication adherence programs – to improve medication compliance by providing community pharmacy services:

• Dose Administration Aids
• Staged Supply
• Clinical Interventions.

Medication management programs – to support quality use of medicine services that are designed to reduce adverse medicine events and associated hospital admissions or medical presentations:

• Home Medicines Reviews
• Residential Medication Management Reviews
• Quality Use of Medicines
• MedsCheck and Diabetes MedsCheck.

Targeted programs and services:

• Rural support programs – improves access to PBS medicines and services for people living in rural and remote regions of Australia
• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander support programs – improves quality use of medicines and culturally appropriate services for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander patients
• Aged Care On-site Pharmacist (ACOP) program –  improves medication management and safety for residents by having pharmacists with aged care credentials working in residential aged care homes
• Take Home Naloxone program – provides naloxone free of charge and without a prescription to people who may experience, or witness, an opioid overdose or adverse reaction
• National Immunisation Program Vaccinations in Pharmacy (NIPVIP) program – allows eligible patients to access free National Immunisation Program (NIP) vaccines in a community pharmacy.

AHA operates as the Pharmacy Programs Administrator (PPA) for these important programs. Watch the “Welcome” video, which is also available in the “New Users¨ section of the PPA website.

AHA was awarded this services agreement following a competitive tender process undertaken by the Department of Health and Aged Care, based on AHA’s substantial experience administering government programs, including the Community Service Obligation (CSO) Funding Pool and the Chemotherapy Compounding Payment Scheme (CCPS).

Richard Stock, AHA Founding Director, said:

Our aim is to build on the committed work of the Guild which has administered these programs over many years to ensure professional and efficient payment for services to pharmacies and other stakeholders.

AHA has engaged the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia (PSA) to advise on and support the administration of these programs.