The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 269 No 7217 p430
28 September 2002

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UniChem launches Portfolio plan

UniChem has launched a scheme for total pharmacy management.

Participants in the UniChem convention in Mauritius this week have been told that the scheme, called Portfolio, offers enormous benefits to those who join. To do so, pharmacies will have to pay a fee and meet targets and compliance requirements.

"If we are raising the game for pharmacists who commit to being a part of Portfolio we cannot afford to have any weak links," Nick England, chief executive of Alliance Unichem Retail International, said.

In return for compliance, UniChem will seek to negotiate with primary care trusts on behalf of independent pharmacists and provide other benefits.

Matthew Price, an independent pharmacist from Cowbridge, suggested that the initiative might remove the entrepreneurial spirit of independent pharmacists. "For all intents and purposes, we would be managing UniChem's shops," he said.

Andrew Gush, from Porthcawl, said that although he had embraced UniChem's support services in full, he would not obtain maximum benefit unless they were adopted by many pharmacists.