Society should support calls for a review of prescription charges
and exemptions but careful planning is needed
The Council of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society agreed at its June
Council meeting that the Society should support calls for a complete review of prescription charges and exemptions in England and Scotland.
The Council believes that the current system is unfair and illogical.
However, it agrees that abolition or substantial reform should only be
considered after an in-depth analysis of the consequences for patients,
professionals and the public purse.
In the devolved administrations, where prescription charge abolition
has already started or is being considered, the Society should advise
that abolition is accompanied by measures to reduce any negative impact
that it might have on patients, and on pharmacy services in general,
due to undermining minor ailment schemes and POM-to-P switches, and through
increasing pharmacy and GP workloads. The Council also decided that the
Society should call upon Westminster and the devolved administrations
to commission research on the impact of prescription charges on the health
of those patients who require long-term medication but who are not exempt
from charges under the current system.
Eileen Neilson, the Society’s head of policy development, said: “The
international evidence we have reviewed so far has revealed that this
is a complex issue with no simple solutions. Abolition or major
structural change to the current system of prescription charges and exemptions
could destabilise general practice and community pharmacy at a time of
acute workforce shortages and rapidly increasing workloads in both services.
This would have negative consequences for patient safety, waiting times
and access in primary care. The current system is illogical and unfair
but a move to a more rational and equitable system requires careful planning
and implementation.”
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The
Pharmaceutical Journal