Key Post: Pharmacy prices

Does anyone know if there is supposed to be any price control on prescription medicines ?

I just had to fill similar (identical medication, different quantities) prescriptions in two different pharmacies and the prices were miles apart for the same product.

The thing is - when you have a prescription for medicine you are generally not on for spending time in the market seeing who has the best value today. You find a pharmacy and get the prescription filled. Pharmacies do not have a price list on display where you can check the price. I know you can ask before you pay, but since the event is normally a one-off people are unlikely to know what the expected price would be for any particular medication.

Anyway, pharmacy 1 charged €1.075 per tablet for a quantity of 6 and pharmacy 2 charged €0.491 per tablet for a quantity of 9. Pharmacy 2 is a small local pharmacy who presumably doesn't enjoy the economies of scale which pharmacy 1 enjoys and so if anything should be more expensive, but yet the price is less than half that of pharmacy 2.

The thing is I know I could have asked the price and I willingly handed over the money without querying the value, but with a sick child you're not in the mood for generating aggro over a few euro.

I just think it is ridiculous that we can have price control on beer/wine/spirits and no control on the prices charged for medication.

The tablets were exactly the same - same manufacturer, same stength, same batch number on the bubble strip even.

z

pharmacy prices

as far as i know there is a fee involved for all medicines on prescription irrespective of amount of medicine involved. so you should really compare "like with like" i.e. 9 tablets from pharmacy1 with 9 tablets from pharmacy2

Hmm

Hmm, you might be right, but as it happens 9 from pharmacy 2 cost *less in total* than 6 from pharmacy 1.

The only difference is that the purchase in pharmacy 2 also inlcuded some other medication, so the cost might have been spread (if it is a fixed cost per transaction).

It might be correct, but I would find it strange that a fixed cost per purchase isn't itemised out if it is fixed and unavoidable.

z

Re: Hmm

I don't believe that are any price controls for retail sales. I think there are fixed prices for some (possibly all) drugs provided under a medical card.

10% discount.

I started ringing around to get prices for medicines. Each pharmacy that I rang were quoting the same price. I was told that the pharmecutical companies set the prices. However if anyone lives near U.C.D. Belfield, they have a chemist in the Student centre that will give 10% off to students. They never ask to see your student card. If you are a mature student and enroll in a credit adult education course you are entitled to avail of all student services. Hope this helps.

Re: Pharmacy prices

Everyone should make sure that they are aware of / enroled in the Drugs Payment Scheme. That way you never have to pay more than 78 euro per month for your whole family's prescription meds.

Even if you rarely top this amount in a given month, it costs nothing to enrol, so it's handy to have just in case.



Also, remember that you can claim back cost of prescription meds at top tax rate at the year end using form MED1, so that's another potential 42% off.

Re: Pharmacy prices

Nathaniel,

"Also, remember that you can claim back cost of prescription meds at top tax rate at the year end using form MED1, so that's another potential 42% off"

Does the excess of €125 (single) and €250 (family) apply to this also?

Re: Pharmacy prices

Does the excess of €125 (single) and €250 (family) apply to this also?

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Just filled out my own form over the weekend. The excess applies to your entire medical spend for the year, including perscriptions, GP costs, diagnostic procedures etc etc.

There is no specific excess for perscription costs only.

Re: Pharmacy prices

Yes, I forgot about the annual excess, but it doesn't take many GP bills to get past that.

It works roughly like this:

Add all your prescriptions, GP bill, hospital costs etc for the year.
Subtract the excess of 125 or 250
Subtract any money you got back from VHI/BUPA
The result can be credited against tax

Also, you can claim for prior years; so if you have GP bills and prescription receipts lying around from a few years ago you should dig them out.

I recently got a total of 1,300 euro back in two cheques covering 2002 and 2003 (there were some private maternity fees in there).

Bit off-topic though.......

In Italy if your doc prescribes you eg; "Pluxaton TM" and you go to you Pharmacist, they must produce all the generic brands of the same ingredient and allow you to choose, according to price if you so wish.

Really off topic, they must also supply a service FOC, in relation to advice on whether or not your mushrooms are edible!

Re: Bit off-topic though.......

I just think it is ridiculous that we can have price control on beer/wine/spirits and no control on the prices charged for medication.

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There is no price control on beer/wine/spirits in this country. Suppliers can charge what they like for such items once they obey fairly basic rules re price displays etc

Re: Bit off-topic though.......

Tommy - you're right. I just used the wrong terminology. I was referring to the price display situation. I know publicans can (and do) charge whatever they like as long as the price is clearly on display.

z

pharmacies

I agree with you Zag. Who can we lobby ? One should be able to go into a pharmacist and see a pricelist. How does one know whether they are been ripped off or not ?

Anyone any idea which pharmacy tends to be cheaper than another ?

What is their profit margin ?

Re: pharmacies

One should be able to go into a pharmacist and see a pricelist.

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A pricelist! For all of the thousands of possible drugs on the market? Come on, Gerry - the pricelist would take up a small room, and destroy a forest if they have to reprint it every time a price changes.

If you want to know the price, just ask beforehand. Better still, give them a ring and let your fingers do the walking.

priced out

To be fair rainyday, a pc could do the job quite adequately or perhaps my redundant website could offer to post an updated list. I dont see why a pharmacy should be able to charge different dispensing fees, product charges without informing the consumer. There are hundreds of different prices for life insurance yet the life insurance manages to come up with a price list ! The financial services industry has got battered for years - and rightly so - now it is time for the pharmacies & drug companies to be cleaned up also. We get ripped off so badly for prescriptions in this country.

Many middle class people who are struggling to pay morgagaes, rent, bills dont go to their GP when they are sick at first because of the cost (1) of visit to gp (2) cost of drugs. So many perservere with their symptoms until they either get better or their condition gets worse. However someone who has a medical card, gets whatever drugs or gp visits whenever, whatever they want.

Look at the price of a visit to Gp in other countries, cost of drugs in europe....

Re: priced out

What is the problem with just asking the pharmacist 'How much'?

Like for like

I equate it to having to ask how much something is in a Spar.

Re: Like for like

If you're buying something from behind the counter in Spar, like batteries or aspirins, you'd have to ask them how much...

spar

.....but I'd always buy aspirin in a pharmacy........

Re: spar

Remember that the additional administration & IT costs of any such 'price list' system will ultimately be passed on to the consumer. I can't see any problem with just asking the price in advance.