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Prescription fees challenged

 

25-Feb-2007: Critics say the fees mostly affect the elderly and chronically ill and undermine the Government's primary healthcare strategy, which is designed to lower fees.

It comes as the Canterbury District Health Board has issued a warning that chemists are breaking their contract with the board by charging an extra $1 or more for each item dispensed.

Under the healthcare strategy, pharmacists must charge patients under 25 and over 45 a maximum of $3 in fees.

Grey Power health spokeswoman and former Nelson Marlborough District Health Board member Chris Tuffnell said two people had complained to her in the last year about the additional administration charges and she had taken their complaints to the board.

One of the complainants was told by pharmacy staff that the additional charge was for "a new computer which staff were having to learn".

She would not name the pharmacies that applied the fees.

"The complaints to us could just be the tip of the iceberg."

The board investigated prescription surcharges in 2005 after receiving complaints from patients about the extra costs.

Ms Tuffnell said pharmacists were entitled to levy some additional fees, such as those for faxed prescriptions, and the board had prepared a brochure outlining which fees were allowed.

She encouraged anyone who had been charged extra to raise the issue with the board or Grey Power.

The administration fees she had heard of ranged from 50 cents to a few dollars.

"With repeat prescriptions it starts to add up."

Pharmacy Guild central representative Dave Ross told the Nelson Mail he was not aware of any Nelson pharmacists charging fees which they were not entitled to. Some charged fees for services such as home delivery, but had been doing so for 10 years.

However, he said such administration charges would be inevitable if more government funding wasn't made available to cover rising operational costs - including a 2 percent increase in wages caused by the extra week's annual leave requirement.

Mr Ross said district health boards had not offered any extra funding in the last nationwide contract negotiation.

"Surely pharmacists must be entitled to inflation."

No one from the Nelson Marlborough District Health Board was available to comment this morning.

Age Concern Canterbury chief executive Andrew Dickerson said he had received complaints from elderly people who had to get several medicines with frequent renewal.

"Many frail elderly people have multiple health conditions and often chronic conditions that require frequent prescriptions. Any charge, no matter how small, has an impact on a vulnerable population who are on a fixed income," he said.

Mr Dickerson said pharmacists should seek improvements to their income through appropriate negotiations with health officials "rather than using vulnerable patients".

Canterbury Health board funding and development manager Terry Mitchell said the pharmacies were breaching the Pharmacy Services Agreement they had with the board.

"A letter has been written to all pharmacies advising them that if they are charging the $1 fee and displaying the notice, they need to stop," he said.

Source: The Nelson Mail