Michael Harty (Clare, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I will share time with my Rural Alliance colleague, who will be here soon. From a medical point of view, the excessive claiming of fees by a chain of pharmacies is disturbing and disappointing. Unfortunately, it gives all pharmacies an unwarranted bad name and diminishes their standing in the communities they serve. Community pharmacies supply an invaluable service to their patients, as do their GPs, and we work in harmony and synergy to supply a service to our patients. Any activity that casts a shadow over this essential service is very disappointing and I hope it will not damage the ordinary community pharmacist who supplies a very personal service to their patients.

Blister packing of medication is essential for a vulnerable cohort of patients who need their medication to be dispensed in this manner so that they can take their medication in a structured way. Patients who need this blister packing and the phased dispensing of medication may have cognitive impairment or suffer from confusion. They may have a physical impairment or dependencies in many other ways.

How do these matters come to the attention of the GP or pharmacist? We supply a personal services to our patients and a home help may come to us telling us they have a client who has not been taking his or her medication. It may be on the floor or accumulating in drawers and dressers in the client's home. Doctors may come across it while doing a house call. They may see medication which has not been taken properly or some tablets which have been taken and others which have not. Pharmacists can also pick up the fact that patients are not taking their medication properly so it is usually a decision between the doctor and pharmacist as to whether the phased, blister-packing means of dispensing is instituted. It is a very important part of the medical and pharmacy professions that patients take their medication properly. Blister packing is a labour-intensive service and, as such, should attract a fee that is appropriate to the work done. It is extremely disappointing that this scheme has been used as a money-generating enterprise by some pharmacy chains.

The primary care reimbursement scheme, PCRS, which is computerised, should be able to pick up excessive claiming by individual pharmacies and certainly should be able to pick up excessive claiming by chains of pharmacies. It is obvious that the auditing procedure needs to be strengthened. It is very positive that the excessive claiming has been identified and that fees have been returned to spend on vital medical services. I hope the ordinary community pharmacists are not damaged by this activity and that they retain the confidence of the HSE and the public. Pharmacists who supply a very personal service are essential to the proper running of primary care and it is very important that confidence is maintained in pharmacy.

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