Prescription Costs WTF?

gerryp2000

cathy01 wrote: »

Can you really save that much??

Hi Cathy01,

Yes you can, I have an annual private-prescription (i.e. non-medical card) from my GP in Dublin.
Went to Newry, and got my supply of meds at the prices I mentioned above.

Just to confirm - I spoke with the HSE, the DOHC and the Irish Medicines Board and they all stated there is no law stopping people in the Republic, going up North to have their own private prescription filled as long as it’s for their own use and a max supply of three months.

gerryp2000

gerryp2000 wrote: »

You really do need to shop around these days -

I was, up until recently, paying an astronomical amount for my monthly supply of drugs. Comparing the euro amount below to the sterling equivalent is saving me hundreds of euro per year!!

Neurostil 100mg(x60)
Euro €31
Sterling £5

Simvastatin 40mg(x28)
Euro €30
Sterling £5

Protium 20mg(x28)
Euro €21
Sterling £5

I call bull****. Price don't match up with british drug tariff books.

gerryp2000

Deleted User wrote: »

I call bull****. Price don't match up with british drug tariff books.

No need for the attitude chap - are you a pharmacist or connected in any way to the Irish pharmacy industry?? -
I'm totally unbiased,just trying to save some euros.

All it takes to prove what I have stated (to be 100% factual) is for the sceptics to ring a Pharmacy in the Quays shopping centre, Newry, and ask for a quote.
:P

SeaSide

From www.boots.co.uk
neurostil not found
simvastatin tablets 40mg 5.00
protium 20mg 15.97

gerryp2000

gerryp2000 wrote: »

No need for the attitude chap - are you a pharmacist or connected in any way to the Irish pharmacy industry?? -
I'm totally unbiased,just trying to save some euros.

All it takes to prove what I have stated (to be 100% factual) is for the sceptics to ring a Pharmacy in the Quays shopping centre, Newry, and ask for a quote.
:P

I study pharmacy in the UK. I just happened to be in University and had a drug tariff book to hand and the prices don't match up.

garroff

Question: If I post my prescription to Nor'iron, can the chemist post me back my tablets?
Not Class a drugs....just blood pressure tablets.
2nd question: Is there a web site that shows what customers are paying for their tablets....not HSE recommended prices...the actual cash that the punter is paying at the counter.

locum-motion

garroff wrote: »

Question: If I post my prescription to Nor'iron, can the chemist post me back my tablets?
Not Class a drugs....just blood pressure tablets.
2nd question: Is there a web site that shows what customers are paying for their tablets....not HSE recommended prices...the actual cash that the punter is paying at the counter.

1. Mail Order pharmacy is illegal in the RoI. This has been defined in law to include via the Internet. The NI pharmacy wouldn't be breaking any UK laws to post the tabs to you, but you would be breaking Irish law if you use the postal system or any electronic device connected to the telecommunications system to place or transmit an order to them.

2. There IS a HSE site, but it's irrelevant as it only states the price that the HSE would pay if the HSE is paying for it. Given that the government buy 92% of the drugs in the country, they have the buying power (not to mention the ability to, you know, change the rules whenever they want) to give themselves a massive discount, and the price is somewhat lower than the true economical cost of the provision of the service.
For private prescriptions, where the government doesn't pay, each pharmacist determines the price they charge based on several factors, such as:

• The cost price for which they bought the medicine in the first place.
• The overheads that the pharmacy has to meet; wages, rent, electricity, €4,500 to the PSI each year, insurance, software/hardware maintenance, loans & interest, etc, etc, etc.
• The pharmacist's salary.
• A return on the investment that the pharmacy owner has made.
• etc
• etc
• etc
• And last but not least, the process of calculating a selling price will include a consideration of what the pharmacy management thinks the local market will bear. There's no point in charging a tenner if your competitor is charging a fiver. (but similarly; why be the guy charging a fiver if people are willing to pay a tenner?)

All of this means that the answer to your question is No, there is no website that shows what you'll pay, because there is no set or fixed amount that you will pay. It will vary from pharmacy to pharmacy. This is precisely why I'm baffled by this week's kerfuffle in the press. They're reporting that there is variety in price. Wow! What a surprise! This, people, is competition in action.

I'll leave you with this thought; what would it mean if all of the pharmacies were charging the same price?

That would be price fixing. It's called a cartel, and it's illegal. Some Citroen dealers in the midlands got into serious hot water for exactly that a couple of years ago.

locum-motion

ps.
Does all of this mean that people who pay for their prescriptions are subsidising those for whom the government pays?
Yes, it does.
It always has, and it always will.
Unfair?
Yes, it is rather, isn't it?
But don't blame the pharmacist.

locum-motion

pps.

Do you think that all pharmacies are ripping you off and that all pharmacists are multi-millionaires who buy a new Merc every six months?

Well, if you do think that; did you know that you can get your own nose into that trough too? In this country, there are absolutely no restrictions on who can open a pharmacy or where they can open it.

Seriously, fire ahead. Sure they're all super rich aren't they?

Yeah, that explains why a small family-run chain of 3 pharmacies, that has been trading for about 40-50 years, went belly up this week.

garroff

Locum-motion, many thanks for your comprehensive reply. Nice to get info from someone who knows what he is writing about.
Again....many thanks.