COMMUNITY pharmacists are being accused of price gouging, with a fresh report from News Corp claiming dispensing fees "paid to chemists to stick a label on drugs" were significantly increasing the cost of Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) medicines.
The article, published on Fri, noted pharmacists pay $2.95 for atorvastatin, however general patients pay $20.43 for the medicine on the PBS, after pharmacists receive fees for dispensing, administration and handling, recording the medicine on the patient's safety net record and a $4.53 charge for general patients.
A spokesperson for the Pharmacy Guild of Australia described the article as "disappointing" adding the description of pharmacists' practice was inaccurate.
"This is an unfair misrepresentation of the skill, expertise, knowledge, training and responsibilities of professional pharmacists as health professionals," the Guild spokesperson said.
"The statin atorvastatin referred to in the story is one of the medicines which has come down in price very significantly over the past 10 years.
"Concession cardholders and pensioners, to whom about 70% of PBS scripts are dispensed, pay no more than $6.50 for PBS prescriptions.
"After they reach the safety net, concession cardholders and pensioners pay zero per script."
Meanwhile, Australian Healthcare Alliance Chair, Jennifer Doggett, hit out at the Community Pharmacy Agreement (CPA), during a discussion on ABC Radio Nightlife, describing it as a "non-transparent" way of funding pharmacy-based health services.
"Decisions about where that funding goes should be based on consumer and community interests, not based on what's best for pharmacists," she said.
Guild Victorian Branch President, Anthony Tassone, rejected suggestions the 6CPA was not transparent.
"The whole agreement is in a publicly available document, searchable via Google, and fully itemised," he said on Twitter.
"It's an $18.9 billion agreement, of which $15.5 billion are direct PBS subsidies for patients."
The above article was sent to subscribers in Pharmacy Daily's issue from 02 Sep 19
To see the full newsletter, see the embedded issue below or CLICK HERE to download Pharmacy Daily from 02 Sep 19
