truthseeker
Registered User
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This has been all over the news for days before the closures. Why not do something about it before then?
Yes.
Pharmacies earn:
- a wholesale discount of maybe 8% (drug costs 100, wholesaler charges 117.64, pharmacy receives 117.64 from HSE, but the wholesaler gives a discount of 8-10)
- a mark-up of 0% on medical card patients and 50% on DPS patients
- a fee of 2.50-4.00 approx per transaction
I don't understand your question.
It doesn't matter how you pay for your prescription drugs: cash, debit or credit card.
What is relevant is whether you are a DPS patient or a medical card patient.
Example
Drug is 85 ex-factory price. This price is set by Govt in negotiation with drug supplier / manufacturers.
There are 3 main wholesalers (1 owned by a group of pharmacies, another owned by a pharmacy chain parent company)
The wholesaler adds a margin / mark-up. This used to be a 15% margin / 17.64% margin.
So the pharmacy gets paid 100, known as the reimbursable cost.
But the wholesaler gives the pharmacy a share of their margin in the form of a discount. So the pharmacy actually pays 92.
Gross profit so far = 8.
Next, the pharmacy adds a retail margin. The margin is 0% for medical card patients, 50% for DPS patients.
They also earn a dispnsing fee. I'm not sure exactly how much this is, about 2.50-4.00 per item.
So it is fair to say that the DPS scheme acts as a subsidy to the mediacl card scheme (GMS).
"Paying on your own"? - all non-GMS patients are in the DPS scheme, where you pay the first 80? 100? per month. The Stae pay the balance.
"Paying on your own"? - all non-GMS patients are in the DPS scheme, where you pay the first 80? 100? per month. The Stae pay the balance.
On RTE news this evening, Boots in the Pavillion was reported to be advising those people requiring non-urgent medication would not be able to have their scripts filled for 48 hours.... maybe, its time to consider compiling a list of those pharmacies that are dispensing medicine and those pharmacists who have not withdrawn from the GMS community drugs scheme but yet have shut up shop...
Just to clarify, a non GMS patient must apply to be in the DPS scheme - it does not happen automatically. All non GMS patients are entitled to be in it, but not all are (I am not for instance).
I’m with you there truthseeker, I was also not fully aware of the DPS.
Now I already printed the DPS application form and am sending it out today.
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