Cash not care: Is the asthma drug GP crackdown all about money?
Professor Nick Zwar said it was unlikely that safety concerns triggered the PBS changes.
There is still no official word on why GPs have been banned from initiating Flixotide Junior and Axotide Junior under the PBS for children under six.
But some now claim it is less about patient safety and more about the Federal Government wanting to save money.
Since 1 April, only respiratory physicians and paediatricians were allowed to initiate PBS scripts for Flixotide Junior and Axotide Junior — fluticasone propionate 50µg per actuation inhalation, 120 actuations — for young children.
The PBS listing for the medication was also moved to authority required, while PBS subsidies for children aged six or older were scrapped.
