After weeks of tense negotiations, the Government has reached an in-principle agreement with pharmacists on the sixth community pharmacy agreement, valued at $18.9 billion investment over the next five years.

Health Minister Sussan Ley said it should result in cheaper medicines for consumers, with the agreement to include the option for pharmacists to discount the patient copayment by $1.

“Patients have many scripts, sometimes many a month, and the discounted co-payment opportunity that pharmacists can provide in this agreement… will actually really improve patients’ affordability when it comes to medicines,” she said.

“For the first time, I sat down with everyone across the supply chain for medicines… the manufacturers, the wholesalers, the dispensers, the prescribers and mostly importantly the consumers,” she said.

The Government estimates it will save between $5 and $6 billion across the pharmaceutical sector through these changes and the previously announced changes to the cost of generic medicines.

One of the biggest changes in this new agreement is opening up the primary care space to include pharmacists.

“There is a $1.2 billion investment for pharmacy programs and pharmacy moving into some items in primary care,” she said.

Pharmacists already offer services such as blood pressure tests and medication reviews, but this could dramatically increase the type of medical services they could offer.

But Ms Ley was clear that any move into services offered by doctors would be done gradually.

“There’s an opportunity for pharmacists to step into the primary care space, but we are doing this carefully and in an evidence-based way,” she said.

“We know that over time the investment that we will make in this area will entrench pharmacists as key members our primary care teams.”

All pharmacy programs, new and existing, will be reviewed and approved by the independent Medical Services Advisory Committee.

The Government has agreed to give pharmacists a new handling and administration fee, for dispensing advice.

Location rules governing where pharmacies can open remain in place, but will be reviewed in two years’ time.

The new agreement is due to start on July 1.