Payments from State earn pharmacist €4 million
The money paid by the State to pharmacists includes dispensing fees and drug costs. Pharmacists currently receive a fee-per-item (of €3.27 — €18.00) for dispensing drugs under the medical card scheme GMS and a 50% markup on drugs dispensed under the Drugs Payment Scheme (DPS) as well as a fixed fee, usually €2.86 per item.
Details of the national payments to pharmacists are contained in the Primary Care Reimbursement Service report for 2006, due for publication this week. The figures reflect income and not profits. The report does not contain the cost to pharmacists of purchasing drugs, nor does it reflect overheads.
A spokesperson for the Irish Pharmaceutical Union (IPU) said the fees paid by the State reflected the volume of work done by individual pharmacists and that the majority did not earn inordinate amounts of money. He said profits would be further reduced under the Health Service Executive’s (HSE) plan to cut the markup price paid to wholesalers for drugs by almost 10% over the next year and a half.
Wholesalers have warned the cuts could force them to reduce their existing twice-daily delivery services to pharmacies.
“If the reforms go through, we will recoup less from the HSE than the cost of the medicines we distribute and we believe there will be less frequent deliveries as a result,” the IPU spokesman said.
The IPU also believes wholesalers such as United Drug, Uniphar and Cahill May Roberts will be forced to scale back on the level of discount currently given to individual pharmacies, threatening the existence of smaller outlets.
The three main wholesalers supply about 90% of medicines to community pharmacies and hospitals.
In protest at the HSE move, the IPU will today withdrawn from methadone treatment schemes in Dublin.
Last night, the HSE was attempting to put contingency arrangements in place for dispensing methadone in Dublin.
A statement said 11 sites had been identified for the provision of emergency Methadone services and clients were being contacted and informed of alternative arrangements to dispense their medication.
In addition, it said the situation in the rest of the country was being monitored closely “and arrangements are ready to be implemented in the event of an escalation of the action nationwide”. An Emergency Planning Group is liaising with the Gardaí and relevant agencies in relation to contingency plans.
The IPU said pharmacists around the country are threatening to withdraw from all State schemes from December 1 if the dispute continues.
