The reforms allow pharmacies to reduce the cost of scripts subsidised through the scheme by up to $1.

The discount is optional for pharmacies.

Stawell Amcal Pharmacy owner Brian Hancock said the pharmacy had also elected to participate in the discounts.

​“It’s something that we can decide individually. Amcal doesn't make recommendations about whether we should pass the discounts on, they just lay out the options and it's up to pharmacies to decide,” he said.

”It was certainly something we had to think about, because the cost is borne by the pharmacy.

“The discount is paid for by the pharmacies, not the government, and that's something a lot of people don't realise.

“We had to assess whether it was a viable thing to do, but at the end of the day, we wanted to pass the discount on to our customers.”

Priceline Horsham pharmacist in charge Cobie McQueen said the store would pass on discounts to customers. 

“It is something the whole Priceline chain is doing,” she said.

“The major benefit is that all concession price scripts are $1 cheaper than normal. In 2016 the concession amount is $6.20. With the discount, the concession will come down to $5.20.

“The scheme has generated a lot of interest with many of our patients.”

Miss McQueen said concession patients did not need to opt-in to benefit. 

“We’ve got it so our concession patients will automatically receive the discount,” she said.

“What the scheme does mean too is, for patients on a lot of medications who reach a safety net, it will affect the amount of time it takes for them to reach that safety net threshold. If they are unsure how the discount will affect them, they should pop in and see us.”

About 80 per cent of scripts in the scheme are concessional.

The Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme safety net threshold is $372 for a concessional patient and $1475.70 for a general patient.

When a patient reaches the safety net threshold within a calendar year, they qualify to receive scheme items at a cheaper price or free of charge for the rest of that year. 

Health Minister Sussan Ley said the changes would provide greater competition.

“For some pharmacies, this discount is an opportunity to explore a new market to compete on price,” she said. “For others, they may choose not to discount and focus on competing on a well-rounded pharmacy experience.” 

Ms Ley said it did not matter if a patient took 60 or 70 scripts to reach safety net protections, they would still pay the same amount before they reached the eligibility thresholds.   

“The $1 discount will not impact a patient’s access to protections,” she said.  

“If a patient pays less for their prescriptions thanks to this discount and they don’t reach their safety net as a result, that’s a positive because it means they are spending less money overall on prescription medicines.”