The new medical access framework governing NVPs represents significant financial opportunities for the pharmacy channel, particularly with the DoH’s assessment of up to 450,000 Australians seeking assessments for NVPs in the next 12 months.

With much confusion about the role of NVPs as a therapeutic cessation tool, those pharmacies that assume community leadership in terms of establishing an order transition to prescribed access will outperform in terms of capturing market share of this new market.

The revenue opportunity from dispensing NVPs

In order to understand the revenue opportunity arising from dispensing NVPs, a successful intervention under medical supervision will see a patient stabilise away from using cigarettes, and attempt nicotine abstinence over a period of up to 12 months (and realistically, no less than 6 months).

• Typical duration of treatment: 6-12 months
• Typical prescribed dosage of Nicovape® Q per month: 14-28 cartridges
• RRP of Nicovape® Q cartridges: $12.50

Estimated revenue to pharmacy per patient: $1,050 – $4,000

Understanding the size of the pharmacy opportunity

• No of individual patient visits per year: 460m
• No of pharmacies in Australia: 5,500
• Proportion of patients who want to stop smoking or vaping: 12.2%

Every Australian pharmacy can expect up to 850 visits each month by smokers or vapers who may benefit from using NVPs.

Proactive pharmacy steps to drive adoption

While clinic groups establish themselves as smoking cessation specialists, community pharmacies continue to be the primary source of information for patients looking to find prescribers.

1. Building relationships with local prescribers – Liber:Activate

Pharmacies who wish to dispense NVPs require interested patients to seek assessment and, where appropriate, be prescribed NVPs.

Bringing stocked pharmacies and local prescribers together, to ensure a seamless patient journey, remains the biggest single hurdle to the MAF.

To this end, Liber has developed its Liber:Activate program. The program aims to ensure that pharmacies and their local NVP prescribers are paired to provide patients with a seamless prescribing and dispensing experience.

Under the Liber:Activate program, pharmacies can nominate particular clinics and indeed, individual prescribers with whom they have existing relationships. Liber’s medical liaison team will work with those local doctors to ensure that they (i) are properly trained to assess patients and prescribe NVPs, and (ii) are willing to encourage prescribed patients to be dispensed Nicovape Q from your pharmacies.

2. Identifying patients who may benefit from NVPs

Proactive pharmacies will seek opportunities to identify and engage with the hundreds of patients in pharmacy each month who may benefit from NVPs.

In this regard, pharmacists and other pharmacy staff should consider how best to identify patients with smoking and/or vaping histories. Indicators may include patients (i) looking at or buying NRT products, (ii) requesting asthma medication or (iii) enquiring about NVPs.

3. Advising patients about smoking cessation and vaping abstinence options

Pharmacists can look to proactively discuss options with identified persons, or more passively wait until patients engage and seek advice.

As you discuss options with patients, seek to better understand the patient’s smoking history.

If a patient is interested in learning more about NVPs as a cessation option, you may:

• Request the patient’s GP details and pass on information obtained directly to the GP;
• Provide the patient with a tear-off collateral provided in your Liber Pharmacy initiation pack to take to their local GP; or
• Provide the patient with a tear-off collateral provided in your Liber Pharmacy initiation pack about appropriate online telehealth providers and how to access them.

You should always reassure patients that today is the best day to stop smoking and if their doctor prescribes them with NVPs, you will be able to dispense their prescribed NVP and provide appropriate support on an ongoing basis.

Questions to determine a patient’s smoking history

For smokers:

• How long have you been smoking?
• How many cigarettes do you smoke?

For vapers:

• How long have you been vaping?
• What do you vape, how many puffs does it have and how long does it last?

For all:

• Have you tried and failed to quit?
• When was your last quit attempt?
• Any underlying medical conditions?
• What medications are you taking?