Pharmacies in Scotland have been given a month's grace in which to use up stock bought before the October 1 deadline for manufacturers to cut their prices to the NHS by 4.5 per cent overall.
The Scottish Office has agreed with the Scottish Pharmaceutical General Council that reimbursement of dispensing costs at the reduced prices will only be put into effect for prescriptions dispensed on and after November 1.
In a newsletter to Scottish contractors on September 14, Mr George Romanes (chairman, SPGC) says that most companies are keeping quiet about how they intend to achieve the 4.5 per cent reduction. He expects that products that are coming to the end of their patent lives could be substantially reduced in price, while more recently introduced products are likely to be less affected.
The 4.5 per cent price cut is required under the renegotiated Pharmaceutical Price Regulation Scheme (PJ, July 17, p80).
No information about any similar agreement for England and Wales was available from the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee as The Journal went to press.