Dear Editor,
Thank you to Marcus Day and the Barrhead Leader for covering Budget 2013 concerns with respect to Pharmacy. Reading on page 10A of last week’s newspaper may suggest” what more do Pharmacists want”, so I feel some clarification is warranted.
1. $40 million Pharmacy transition: the math doesn’t quite add up. We have been reinstated $1 per prescription transition fee (April 15, 2013) for prescriptions with drug cost below $74.99. Since we fill most chronic prescriptions for 100 days, this reflects about $40 extra per day for my Pharmacy which is doesn’t go very far for business expenses and transition attempts. The total estimate per province is $12 million so where is the other $28 million?
2. Clinical services model needs major overhaul as there has been very slow uptake from Pharmacists due to its cumbersome documentation requirements. At my store, we have taken every opportunity to perform these clinical services from Complex Annual Care Plans to prescription adaptation through renews and injections. We have been working “full tilt” and have just been able to absorb the July 2012 cutback and now we have another. Yikes. And there has been significant push back from local physicians as we are now viewed as stepping into their territory. We simply are battling on too many fronts and cannot sustain this pace of change in a healthy way.
3. 30 day extension to use up stock: is nice however some medications have very low use and are sometimes stocked for one customer only. We would need 3 months to work out of this stock otherwise our inventory is devalued by 50% which is hardly an economical way to do business.
To put this into real life perspective: generic drugs account for about 40% of my $110,000 pharmacy inventory. On May 31/13, I may have as high as $22,000 to be written down. This is on top of the $40,000 loss of generic rebate money. Now you can see what I am up against.
4. $10.6 million “remote” access grant is available to areas that have 2 or less pharmacies within 10km radius, thus NO one in Barrhead qualifies.
5. Pharmacists DO want lower drug prices; better yet they work hard every day trying to get people OFF unnecessary medications, despite the fact doing this hurts their income. (Income is currently linked to filling prescriptions, not refusing them.)
The government of Alberta has allocated $400,000 ad campaign to sell the public on their plan. They have planned without RxA (Pharmacist Association of Alberta) at the table. And if this plan is so favorable, why did 900 pharmacists gather in protest on April 11th. Please, before you make judgments, talk to your Pharmacist. If we have made a difference in your health, let your government know. If you want us to stay around to look after your needs, let your government know. Ultimately it is you we are fighting for. Right now I am wishing I had gotten into a trade. At least as a plumber, my pay would be similar, maybe even better, and the sewage would be visible.
Sincerely,
Rita Lyster, RPh, APA, CGP)
(Registered Pharmacist with Advanced Prescribing Authority and Certification in Geriatrics)
