Loosening strict pharmacy regulations would allow supermarket chains to tap into the prescription medicine market and could compromise patient care, pharmacists warn.

The final report of the Harper Review, published on Tuesday, has recommended dumping pharmacy location and ownership rules among a raft of other changes aimed at boosting competition.  

But pharmacists have roundly rejected the proposal, saying deregulation would give supermarkets the power to compete with local pharmacies, driving independent operators out of business and putting health care second to profit.

They say the big supermarket chains could never be a legitimate part of the health system while they profit off cigarettes and alcohol.

The Harper Review proposal would see a winding back of "anti-competitive" regulations by abolishing location rules that set out where pharmacies can be opened, including their distance from competitors. It also includes dumping rules that require pharmacies to be owned by registered pharmacists, and limits set on the number of outlets they own.

For more details, go to: http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/harper-review-pharmacists-slam-proposal-to-lift-restrictions-20150331-1mc84b.html