Weather your prone to seasonal colds or have to deal with a life long condition, chances are you will have to visit your local pharmacy at least once over the next month. And while no one should scrimp on their medical bills, it might be worth hanging on to your receipt the next time you pick up your monthly prescription. A recent survey by UK supermarket chainAsda showed that 63 per cent of people are unaware that private prescription prices vary between pharmacies, and with 92 per cent of us never taking the time to compare prices, it’s no wonder that some pharmacists are inflating the prices of medicine under the Drug Payment Scheme (DPS).
Everyone, regardless of means, is entitled to a DPS card if they don’t have a medical card. The scheme means that a person or family need pay no more than a flat fee of Ђ120 per month for prescribed medicines. According to the Department of Health and Children, it is the “minister’s view that the 20 per cent retail mark-up should be applied to all transactions where a person produces a DPS card, including transactions where expenditure has not reached the Ђ120 monthly threshold”. However, a survey published in The Sunday Timesthis week, found that many pharmacists where adding on far more than the 20 per cent mark-up they were allowed under the DPS. In The Sunday Times report five random prescription medicines were chosen for the price comparison, ranging from painkillers and antibiotics to medication for heart conditions and Alzheimer’s disease. The results showed that in the case of the painkiller Zydol, which should retail for at most Ђ15.30 for 100 tablets to DPS customer, prices in the five pharmacies ranged from Ђ16.63 to an inflated Ђ18.77.
Unfortunately, overcharging in pharmacies has been an issue for some time now. A survey carried out by the National Consumer Agency (NCA) in late 2009 found that the cost of personal care goods and over the counter medicines revealed price differences of up to a whopping 161.6 per cent between retailers. The NCA surveyed 117 products sold across eight leading pharmacy groups, four independent pharmacies and the four largest supermarkets. Ann Fitzgerald, Chief Executive of the NCA said: “Our survey of the four largest supermarket chains revealed a difference of over 18 per cent between the cheapest and dearest retailer on a basket of 25 products,” and she urged consumers to shop around where possible.
Just after the NCA survey was published, the health department said it hoped to make a saving of Ђ133 million a year through reductions in community pharmacy fees. Last week the department said it was “disappointed to learn that some pharmacists have not applied the reduction in retail mark-ups and other reductions in drug costs to transactions under the DPS threshold. The minister has raised this matter with the Irish Pharmacy Union (IPU).”
If you are unsure about the price and mark-up of your medication, check out www.hse.ie, or The Irish Pharmaceutical Healthcare Association’s website at www.checkthelist.ie, where you will find a list of medications and their retail mark-up prices.
