From Mr M. Bennett, MRPharmS
SIR,—I was pleased to see the sensible approach being suggested by the Society in the PJ insert (September 18) for incomplete Controlled Drug prescriptions over the millennium holiday period. It would seem reasonable to me that this approach, in which the consequences to the patient in not supplying the medicine are taken into account, should always be used.
I do, however, object to part of the guidance on emergency supplies which states: "Pharmacist may charge for emergency supplies. However, consideration may be given to refunding the money if a prescription is presented to the pharmacy and the 'loan' deducted from the subsequent supply."
The suggestion is that, in effect, the prescription is dispensed twice, with two containers, the pharmacist interviews the patient and records this in the private prescription book, subsequently locates this and undertakes a refund, all for the princely sum of one NHS fee (97p)!
With the current NHS discount clawback, community pharmacies are not in a position to subsidise the NHS any further. Generally, this type of emergency supply is undertaken because the patient forgot to obtain a repeat prescription. This suggestion would probably mean that they would "forget" whenever it suited them.
My pharmacy provides an extended hours service and consequently sees an above average amount of emergency supplies. Our charging rate is simple: private prescription scale plus VAT. Where a patient requires a refund, they must obtain a prescription for the exact amount of the emergency supply and return this to us within five working days.
This has the following advantages:
We supply patients with a duplicate receipt which shows details of the emergency supply and of our requirements if they require a refund. This also helps to address one of the weaknesses of the current emergency supply procedure which is the lack of feedback to prescriber.
The emergency supply provision is a very useful tool and should be something that pharmacy promotes, but it has to have a fee attached to it.
Can I take this opportunity to point out to those responsible at Lambeth that community pharmacy can no longer afford the luxury of subsidising the NHS. Any suggestion of additional activities must be matched with a method of obtaining payment.
Martin Bennett
Sheffield