Chemist dispensing fees - required to disclose?

manofthefora

If I take a private prescription to a chemist and he says the cost is whatever.

Am I entitled to know what portion of the cost is the dispensing fee?

When I did ask, the response was "it's included in the price - I don't know how much"

MOTF

markmoto

Majority of prescribed medication regulated by the Government.

Chemist wouldn't know unless h/she is the boss of the pharmacy.

beachhead

Dispensing fees are on the public record.All chemists charge the same-max fee for them and extra per item.It's another hidden tax.So,when the government says it won't increase taxes to pay for covid(or any other excuse)these fees won't count because they are not taxes just fees.

paddy19

I know this post is pretty ancient but just to correct the record.

You can easily calculate the dispensing fee you were charged.

The price, agreed between the HSE and the pharmacists, of virtually every prescribed drug (all 7,990 of them) is publicly available on the HSE/PCRS website:

https://www.sspcrs.ie/druglist/pub

You can search by drug name or drug code. (The drug code is on the white DPS prescription claim form).

You simply subtract the HSE price from what you were charged and you have the minimum dispensing fee the pharmacist has charged. (It's a minimum because drug companies/wholesalers give pharmacists extra discounts on the HSE price for meeting targets.)

"All chemists charge the same-max fee for them and extra per item."

Not true, it's open season on cash customers all right, but there can be quite a variation in prices especially on repeat prescriptions. You're better to buy multiple months supply in one go, except for Boots and Pure who won't discount for volumes.

Strangely, the independent pharmacies generally offer better value than the big chains.

I say strangely because you'd expect the big chains with their big buying power to offer better value.

Not so!