In January 2019, the Victorian government announced that the pharmacy service at The Alfred hospital will be the sole service for dispensing voluntary assisted dying medication when the scheme takes effect on 19 June 2019. The voluntary assisted dying medicine will be funded by the Victorian government and patients will not be required to be out-of-pocket to access the medication.
The pharmacy service at The Alfred will be responsible for importing, storing, preparing and dispensing the medication across the State, including delivering medication to those who are too unwell to travel. The Alfred will also provide phone support and advice to co-ordinating medical practitioners about the prescription of voluntary assisted dying medication.
The Victorian government has released the Voluntary Assisted Dying Statewide Pharmacy Service FAQs to provide further information for the health sector as to how the pharmacy system will operate.
Read the media release here and access the FAQs here.