Cuts to payments angers pharmacists

THE Irish Pharmacy Union has said the Government is “entrenching outdated patterns of primary care delivery” by cutting payments to pharmacists in order to make annual savings of €36 million.

Yesterday, Health Minister Dr James Reilly announced that, under the Financial Emergency Measures in the Public Interest Act 2009, he had decided to reduce certain payments made by the HSE to community pharmacists under the General Medical Services and community drugs schemes.

He said the estimated annual savings from the measures is €36m (€24m over the rest of this year).

The savings will come from:

- A reduction from 10% to 8% in the wholesale mark-up payable for drugs dispensed under the GMS and community drugs schemes.

- A reduction from 50% to 20% in the retail mark-up payable under the Drugs Payment Scheme and the Long Term Illness Scheme for non-drug items, controlled drugs and fridge items.

- A 50% reduction in the patient care fee under the High-Tech Medicines Scheme for months when medicine is not dispensed. That will see the fee reduced from €60.52 to €30.26.

The Department of Health pointed out that the HSE spent an estimated €1.9 billion in 2010 on medicines and non-drug items supplied to patients under the GMS and community drug schemes.

“This included approximately €384m paid to community pharmacy contractors in respect of dispensing fees and retail mark-ups,” a spokesman said. “An additional €119m was paid in respect of wholesale costs.”

The IPU said the Government had ignored its claim that additional efficiencies and savings could have been achieved through a “substantial and direct engagement with the IPU within a defined period of time to review all existing, administrative, contractual and payment arrangements”.

It said the cut to pharmacists’ payments was harsh and imposed hugely disproportionate pain on community pharmacists.

“The wholesale margin is not being reduced as stated in the department’s press release. What is being reduced is the very price that the HSE pays to pharmacists for dispensing medicines on the community drugs schemes,” said Darragh O’Loughlin, IPU president.

“In focusing on cuts and ignoring the capacity of community pharmacy to deliver many primary care treatments more cost effectively and conveniently for patients, these cuts undermine the capacity of the most accessible part of Ireland’s primary care service,” Mr O’Loughlin said.