Pharmacy service subsidy
September 30, 2015
COMMUNITY pharmacies
from across the globe continue
to subsidise professional services
from their own pocket, according
to a key report released by the
International Pharmaceutical
Federation.
Sustainability of pharmacy
services: Advancing global health
gives an overview of remuneration
models for community and hospital
pharmacy, and is claimed to be the
first report of its kind.
Based on data from 49 countries
and collated by pharmacists and
health economists, the study
reveals a common concern among
pharmacy groups worldwide over
the long-term financial viability
of community pharmacies, due to
“successive price and margin cuts”.
While governments are interested
in increasing the services offered by
pharmacists & a philosophical shift
towards a more service-focused
model of care, “community and
hospital pharmacy remuneration
models remain largely productfocused,”
the report states.
This in itself constitutes a barrier
to new services, with the linking of
dispensing fees to price meaning
advice from pharmacists is not
always valued appropriately.
As payments based on the volume
of medicines dispensed decrease,
there will be an “urgent need to
find other sources of revenue to
support quality, comprehensive
pharmacy services”.
The full report is the result of two
years work and has been produced
for the exclusive use of FIP member
organisations, with an executive
summary at www.fip.org.
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