The Pharmacy Guild of Australia and ADGP were recently made aware of some confusion relating to the process of a GP referring a patient for an HMR.  Information relating to this was emailed to all Facilitators in April 2003, and a follow-up letter has also been sent to Divisions.  The full statement can also be accessed through the MMRWeb by Facilitators.                                                                                                                                 

The main body of the document can be found below:                                                                     

THE CORRECT HMR MODEL

A referral to the patient's preferred community pharmacy means that the patient identifies the pharmacy they would like to take their referral.  While this is different to most other referral processes where it is the general practitioner who identifies an appropriate health professional, the involvement of the patient's choice of community pharmacy is a vital component in the HMR service model for reasons including the reduction of poly-pharmacy access to pharmacy information and follow up by the consumer's preferred pharmacy.

This means that the referral must be given to a community pharmacy, not an individual pharmacist.  Again, this differs to occasions when general practitioners refer a patient directly to a specific individual.   In the HMR model, the general practitioner cannot refer a patient directly to an accredited pharmacist.  The referral must go to a community pharmacy which is then responsible for engaging an accredited pharmacist in the HMR process.

The central role of the community pharmacy of consumer preference has been established through agreement between the government and all major bodies representing the pharmacy and general practice professions.  A referral of a patient to an accredited pharmacist of the GP's choosing, does not meet Medicare Australia criteria and would require repayment of funds should the general practitioner be audited by Medicare Australia.

If you require further clarification, please contact your State MMR Facilitator.