Health Insurance Dispensing charges for prescriptions

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mondo101

Registered User
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Hi all,
I'm recently new to buying prescription tablets and was wondering why there is such a great difference in price of prescription tablets depending on the amount I buy.

I do not have a medical card and so pay privately for my prescriptions.

eg: From the same pharmacy,
2 months prescription for 3 types of tablets cost me €116
4 months prescription for same 3 types of tablets cost me €188 (Not double €116)
so I'm getting fleeced when buying just 2 months worth.
I was told that this is due to dispensing charges ?
Can someone tell me what the dispensing charges are in Ireland for particular pharmacies ?
These charges are NOT on the prescription receipt, in fact they are disclosed anywhere to me on the transaction, all you get to see is Quantity dispensed v Cost.

Thx
 
I can't help directly with your question, but indirectly, if you are in Dublin, then I have found the following pharmacies to be a lot lot cheaper than your 'regular' chemist:

Pure Pharmacy (various locations)
City Pharmacy on Dame Street
Hilltop Pharmacy (Raheny)

And it's not generic v named brands, have been charged €22 in Boots for a generic that's priced at €7 at the above pharmacies.
I have found no difference in price at those places whether ordering 3 or 6 months worth.
Just sometimes if it is a less commonly prescribed item, best to call in advance to check they have sufficient supply.

And remember to keep all receipts if you are in a position to put through a MED1 claim you can get 20% back as a tax credit.

ps Pure Pharmacy are also selling 24 pack of paracetamol for 90c
 
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Hiya, are you saying that at another pharmacy I could get the same price whether I order 3 or 6 months ? Because that's what I'm looking for.
I never seem to be charged the same price when you work out the price per tablet.
 
mondo101 said:
Hiya, are you saying that at another pharmacy I could get the same price whether I order 3 or 6 months ? Because that's what I'm looking for.
I never seem to be charged the same price when you work out the price per tablet.
Click to expand...

There might be some minor difference, a euro here or there maybe but nothing dramatic that registered on my bargain hunting radar.

An indicative list of prices here for one of the pharmacies noted:
[broken link removed]
 
The charge used to be €2.50 to dispense the prescription in days of old whether it was for one month or six months so it was a lot more expensive if you bought it each month rather than the full 6 months supply if that was the period your prescription was for.

I have found no where else matches the price for cholesterol that Pure charge i.e. €4.00 per month (inclusive of dispensing fee). On the other hand Tesco pharmacy appear to be cheaper so far for anything else that our family need. There are some Tesco pharmacy locations here but strangely enough they don't mention the one in Tesco in Tallaght and the contact phone number for them is: 01-4514581.

Its hard to figure out exactly how Pure and Tesco handle the dispensing fee because they usually give you one month's supply if you are stuck and order in the rest for collection at a later stage without any extra fee. Must ask them the next time I'm in either shop.
 
Hiya and thx for the reply,
Well it seems to me that there is just no transparency regarding dispensing fees.If this is an old practice then it was still mentioned to me in 2017 ? It was said to me by the pharmacy as the reason for the difference in prices but is never displayed anywhere.I'm relatively new to buying tablets but I need to eventually make a consistent comparison from the previous time I bought. So I will buy 6 months worth the next time then compare this to the next time I buy another 6 months, from the same pharmacy the charge should at least be consistent.
Also, I will ring before hand to get a price for 6 months from current pharmacy, then ring a few different pharmacies for comparison.
There's no loyalty in this game !
 
mondo 101,
that's the right thing to do, vote with your feet and i've no doubt at all you'll be well rewarded. Also, if you happen to go to Spain, take your prescription with you and be pleasantly surprised at what you save. If you've got a really good friend going there they may be willing to get your medicine for you.
 
Great to see pharmacy prices coming down here.

Looking back on an old thread I can see that in 2013, I was paying €133 for 6 months supply (180 tabs) of a 10 mg generic statin, in my local Bradley's Pharmacy.

Earlier this year in the same pharmacy, the 6 month supply was down to €39 for 180 x 10mg Atorvastatin.

Last month, again in the same pharmacy the 6 month supply was down to €31.77 for 180 x 10mg Atorvastatin.
 
I have often bought 24 packs of paracetamol in different pharmacies without issue, might only be non pharmacies who are restricted to 12 packs.

Supermarkets only seem to stock 12 packs, I once tried to buy 2 x 12 packs with my shopping and was told at the checkout that I was only allowed buy 1 pack.

When I paid for my shopping the helpful young assistant asked If I now wanted to buy the second pack, not a problem if it’s a separate transaction she said. o_Oo_Oo_O

Presumably as it’s not allowed the system won’t accept 2 packs in 1 transaction.
 
I know this is a slightly old thread but I've used Pure Pharmacy also for a years supply of pravastatin at €4 per month (my GP gave me two prescriptions). Boots were charging €12 or and Hickeys even more. The cheapest place I've found is Newry as ROI presriptions are valid up there. I got 6 months supply for STG£12 so £24 for 12 months. This is cheaper than Spain or Portugal. My only comment about Newry is that they require a certain wording on the prescription to give six months and I emailed a scanned copy so they can review. I also pre-ordered the Pravastain as the pharmacy may not have a full six months supply in. I went to two pharmacies.

I'm normally one for shopping local and this was the first time I went North but the margin that the pharmacies charge in the ROI is just shocking so I took my business elsewhere. I discovered Pure Pharmacy after my trip to Newry and am happy to pay their prices.
 
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