A report analysing the feedback on the Otago and Southland District Health Boards' options for changing the way community medicines are funded is set to be considered behind closed doors.
At this week's community and public health advisory committee meeting to be held tomorrow, the Community Pharmaceuticals Initiative is listed for consideration in closed session.
Twenty-four written submissions, including some from national bodies, have been made on the initiative's report.
Common themes had been reported on and alternative options offered were still being investigated, the boards' chief executive, Brian Rousseau, advised the boards earlier this month.
The final report, including options to "progress the CPI", would be tabled at the advisory committee meeting later this month, Mr Rousseau said.
Advisory committee chairman Errol Millar, when contacted by the Otago Daily Times after the agenda had been published, said he had not read the report but had been advised by management it contained commercially sensitive information and should be in the closed part of the meeting.
The matter had involved "a lot of soul searching" because the more public things were, the better, he believed, but he had agreed with the advice.
The original initiative report last year recommended optional bulk funding of community pharmacies, but later some members suggested a similar proposal, with primary health organisations holding the funding, would be preferable.
This option had initially been ruled out because of concerns about possible anti-competitive behaviour and price-fixing.
Under either option, incentive payments would be used to encourage pharmacies, PHOs and general practices to work together to make the most of community medicine funds, cutting down on any wasteful practices and ineffective treatment.
The way patients paid fees or received prescriptions would not change.
It was suggested the initiative could save up to $9 million over three years in Otago, although this would depend on a variety of factors, including how many pharmacies participated.
