From Mr P. Walton, MRPharmS
SIR,—I currently use the services of two full line wholesalers, two short line wholesalers and one generics manufacturer to supply my generics needs. The wholesalers purchase generics from a whole range of manufacturers and supply my category D drugs at what seems to me prices picked at random. The price lists are constantly changing, and the price for exactly the same generic can vary hugely from wholesaler to wholesaler. In certain cases, I have a great deal of difficulty in sourcing these medicines.
Somehow I am meant to keep tabs on the wholesaler/maker/pack size of every tablet I dispense, which is a mammoth unworkable task, especially as the start position was shelves of these category Ds with no wholesaler identification. If the wholesaler is not marked on a prescription then I will be paid the basic price of the generic, which is often well below the price paid.
The Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee offered to check our prescription batches, but unfortunately, I would not be able to supply wholesaler information to them so they could do this. To add insult to injury any consequential underpayment in July because of category D will feed through to the 100 per cent guestimate payment in October.
Somebody is making a great deal of money from horse-trading category D drugs — and it certainly is not the small independent community pharmacist.
Philip Walton
Swinton, Manchester