Pharmacy prices Shop Around!

I have a repeat prescription x 6, my local pharmacy will only give 1 month at a time, I assume this will be the same in the North which means I will have to make 6 journeys.

It depends on the medication...some drugs they can only supply a limited quantity of but the reason (in some cases) that pharmacists don't like dispensing all of the prescription is that they make less money - 1 dispensing fee instead of 6. I recently stood my ground with a local pharmacy and got all six months of my prescription filled. A not insignificant saving.
 
Purchased cholesterol lowering generics yesterday in Boots Dublin and there has been a noticeable decrease in the cost from circa €35 to €28 per month. I would be interested to know how much these cost in Northern Ireland?
 
It depends on the medication...some drugs they can only supply a limited quantity of but the reason (in some cases) that pharmacists don't like dispensing all of the prescription is that they make less money - 1 dispensing fee instead of 6. I recently stood my ground with a local pharmacy and got all six months of my prescription filled. A not insignificant saving.

Were you availing of the Drug Prescription Scheme? I've had the scheme quoted as the reason why they can't dispense six months at a time.
 
Purchased cholesterol lowering generics yesterday in Boots Dublin and there has been a noticeable decrease in the cost from circa €35 to €28 per month. I would be interested to know how much these cost in Northern Ireland?

I bought Simvastatin (Lipitor equivalent) 40mg(x28)
for £5 - So I bought six months supply.
Suggest you ring them for a price for your type - it's a pharmacy in The Quays, Newry.

Note: I have an annual prescription for the above as I take it daily.
The pharmacist will give a maximum supply of six months, so just 2 visits up north per year - Happy Days!
 
Were you availing of the Drug Prescription Scheme? I've had the scheme quoted as the reason why they can't dispense six months at a time.

No - it's a single item prescription that comes below the DPS monthly amount even for 6 months' supply.
 
How much is Crestor 10mg costing these days?

I am on Crestor generic, Provostatin. 20mg's. I pay €28.51 in Boots here in Dublin. Most other pharmacies are quoting €35 for the generic. I would be interested to know how much it is up North.
 
Is there any obligation on pharmacies to display a price-list - of products or services incl. dispensing charges?
 
My prescription is for Crestor 10mg, My local Bradleys pharmacy gives me the generic Rovustatin for around €5.00 less for 30 tabs. Prices have dropped recently, This month I was charged €27.00 for Rovustatin.

Earlier in the year I was in Newry with a new 6 month prescription, I tried two chemists, both said, no problem, they could dispense 6 months, but both also said they could only dispense exactly what the prescription said, which was Crestor so could not dispense a cheaper generic version. Might ask the GP to state Rovustatin on next prescription and try again next time I’m up there. I forget the exact prices but had I taken the Crestor I would have saved nothing in the first chemist and a minimal amount in the second, but not enough to justify paying 6 months in advance.

I brought my box of Rovustatin into a chemist in Portugal during the summer, they did not have that brand but offered me Crestor 10mg x 30 for €47.00.
 
I brought my box of Rovustatin into a chemist in Portugal during the summer, they did not have that brand but offered me Crestor 10mg x 30 for €47.00.

I have gotten Crestor 10mg from Lanzarote and Spain x 28 tabs from pharmacies for €25.49.
 
Recently, I brought my new six month prescription for 10 mg crestor in to my local Bradleys Pharmacy and asked for six months (180 tabs) of the generic Rovustatin, no problem, I was charged €133.19, I assume one dispensing charge rather than six explains the saving.

Previous month, 30 x Rovustatin was €27.
 
It seems to me that every time I fill my blood pressure meds prescription the price is different. I have tried to educate myself on the various prices and the impact of getting multiple prescriptions filled at one time to reduce the dispensing charge etc but with all the changes its hard to be sure.

I find pharmacies are not conducive to price comparision as tprices are not displayed so to get a "quote" is difficult as there is usually a queue, the pharmacist is busy and sometimes you are asked to call back and anyway how many pharmacies can you realistically call to. I haven't tried phoning around but suspect it might be difficult to get a price on the phone. An online comparison like the HIA site for health insurance or pump.ie for fuel would be great - does anyone know if such exists?
 
I would like more information on the following:

I recently got a prescription from my local chemist. The blister pack had an additional label over the original strip. Our of curiosity I stripped the label off and saw a different name on my prescription.
I queried this and the following emerged:

It seems that common practice now with pharmacies is to buy from different distributors who purchase direct from countries where the same drugs are manufactured and labelled under a different name used in that country, and are supplied much cheaper. I am not for a moment suggesting there is anything wrong with the drugs or the practice, I would be of the opinion that that seems a good idea, but we should all benefit from the reduced cost.

The Department of health are aware of this and they currently pay 97% of the full cost of the drug, as traditionally supplied here, under the drugs refund scheme.

It seems the time is right to pay the pharmacies a much lesser amount more in keeping with the cost of the drugs that these pharmacies pay. The current deficit being projected by the HSE could be benefit from the savings.

I would be interested to know what type of saving the pharmacies are making and why, if the department, are paying 3% less, that they do not make full investigations and pay an amount proportionate to the savings.
Browtal

W
 
I recently visited my local pharmacy to fill my monthly prescription. The assistant asked me if I had any objection to getting a generic drug and that it would be a couple of € cheaper. I agreed and that is fine. Of course, I had forgotten that when all the meds and a non med item are added up, I will still pay the max €144 per month anyway.

This leads me on to a question: If I fill my meds in the North, then added to the non med item, I will still exceed the €144 minimum. Can I include items purchased in NI to make up the €144 claim from PCRS? Thanks
 
Hi Delgirl.. Do you still go to the North for your drugs? I'm looking for a case study for an RTE programme. Perhaps you could drop me a line? [email protected]
 
I was paying €133.19 for 6 months supply of 10 mg Rovustatin which is the generic version of Crestor.

I asked my GP could I get a prescription for Lipitor instead and then get the generic version of that, he said no problem the active ingredient is the same, 6 months supply of the generic Atorvastatin in my local Bradleys now costs €38.93.

For cholesterol medication anyway, It appears there are far bigger savings to be made by getting a generic version of a different brand here, rather than travelling up north.
 
Back
Top