Unable to obtain Actonel (etc.)

[bobbin]

And in Ireland every day I see a veritable buffet of actonel, micardis, lipitor,nexium,bonviva, crestor,asasantin,co-aprovel, seretide.... all on special offer and stockpiled in the stockrooms....

This could change due to the price reductions in Ireland. How do you think pharmacy will cope with the large reductions which are being imposed?

[hibernia]

This could change due to the price reductions in Ireland. How do you think pharmacy will cope with the large reductions which are being imposed?

Price reductions are only on off-patent medicines so the main bulk of the PI trade won't be affected.

How will we cope? I wish I knew. Another battering for us. They won't be content until we are as downtrodden as our UK comrades.
At least they haven't imposed MURs....... YET.

[bobbin]

Price reductions are only on off-patent medicines so the main bulk of the PI trade won't be affected.

How will we cope? I wish I knew. Another battering for us. They won't be content until we are as downtrodden as our UK comrades.
At least they haven't imposed MURs....... YET.

Will you be receiving any compensation for stock purchased at pre-price-reduction prices?

[Fleegle]

No we won't. The stock devaluation will have to be written off as a loss.

[bobbin]

No we won't. The stock devaluation will have to be written off as a loss.

I thought so. It seems that your government doesn't give a **** about pharmacy.

Oh well, now that you'll be able to buy off-patent brands at lower prices, you may be able to sell certain products to wholesalers for export!

[hibernia]

I thought so. It seems that your government doesn't give a **** about pharmacy.

Not "it seems" it just doesn't.

This is in fact the THIRD price reduction we have had on these meds in the last few years.
First time we were paid at the "old" price for a month, which was fair enough. Second time we weren't but could still charge our private patients the "old" price for as long as we liked, most people doing it for a month again. This time we didn't get a list of products being reduced until 10 days before it happened and on day 1, before anybody had got stock at the new lower prices, there was a massive media campaign by the drug companies to encourage the public to " demand" the reductions.

In Ireland about two thirds of the population have to pay for their medicines, up to almost £100 a month. The whole thing has been orchestrated by the government and the drug companies to make themselves look good and make us look like rip-off merchants.

[bobbin]

Not "it seems" it just doesn't.

This is in fact the THIRD price reduction we have had on these meds in the last few years.
First time we were paid at the "old" price for a month, which was fair enough. Second time we weren't but could still charge our private patients the "old" price for as long as we liked, most people doing it for a month again. This time we didn't get a list of products being reduced until 10 days before it happened and on day 1, before anybody had got stock at the new lower prices, there was a massive media campaign by the drug companies to encourage the public to " demand" the reductions.

In Ireland about two thirds of the population have to pay for their medicines, up to almost £100 a month. The whole thing has been orchestrated by the government and the drug companies to make themselves look good and make us look like rip-off merchants.

Sounds awful. Pharmacists are often 'punished' in this way for keeping expensive items in stock, for the benefit of patients. I think it is generally best to keep stock of expensive branded medicines to a minimum. Fast-moving generics can be ordered in bulk, if appropriate.

[hibernia]

Sounds awful. Pharmacists are often 'punished' in this way for keeping expensive items in stock, for the benefit of patients. I think it is generally best to keep stock of expensive branded medicines to a minimum. Fast-moving generics can be ordered in bulk, if appropriate.

It has been awful. Stories in the papers and interviews on TV and radio about these massive reductions then when patients found out their tablets were still the same price, because all the popular branded stuff didn't come down, it was somehow our fault. The generics didn't come down either but will in September, if not before, so no bulk buying of anything at the moment.

Anybody who tries to keep a decent stock was certainly punished, a 40% drop in the value of even a single box of Famvir was a hard pill to swallow but what are you to do? I'm in a rural area, miles from the next pharmacy and no public transport. I can't just shrug my shoulders and say "come back tomorrow" to somebody who lives five miles away even though it is the only logical way to behave from a business point of view.

[bobbin]

It has been awful. Stories in the papers and interviews on TV and radio about these massive reductions then when patients found out their tablets were still the same price, because all the popular branded stuff didn't come down, it was somehow our fault. The generics didn't come down either but will in September, if not before, so no bulk buying of anything at the moment.

Anybody who tries to keep a decent stock was certainly punished, a 40% drop in the value of even a single box of Famvir was a hard pill to swallow but what are you to do? I'm in a rural area, miles from the next pharmacy and no public transport. I can't just shrug my shoulders and say "come back tomorrow" to somebody who lives five miles away even though it is the only logical way to behave from a business point of view.

I'm shocked that this has happened to you. How absolutely dreadful. I thought things were bad in the UK! How many pharmacies will go bust?

From a business point of view, the only way to avoid losing £1000s and £100 000s would be to predict which off-patent brands were coming down in price so that you could try to run your stock of expensive products down to zero on the last day of the month. It would be inconvenient for patients of course, but (unlike you) your government doesn't care. You would then have to do a very large order on the first day of the month ie. all of the items which you de-stocked. All of this would be extremely difficult of course, both for you and for your customers. Do you get twice daily wholesale deliveries like we do? Also, did you not even have the option of charging pre-reduction prices for a short period?

I assume that the manufacturers credited wholesalers for their existing stock so that they could start selling at the new prices straight away? When we had the PPRS price reductions, certain manufacturers refused to credit wholesalers for existing stock........and so they had to continue selling at the old prices until all of the old stock had been sold.

RE no decrease in the price of patented brands, please be aware that everything is (considered to be) the pharmacy's fault!

Let this be a case study in how much governments can shaft pharmacy if they choose to.

Bobbin

[hibernia]

I'm shocked that this has happened to you. How absolutely dreadful. I thought things were bad in the UK! How many pharmacies will go bust?

RE no decrease in the price of patented brands, please be aware that everything is (considered to be) the pharmacy's fault!

Let this be a case study in how much governments can shaft pharmacy if they choose to.

Bobbin

Thanks for the sympathy.
Hard to say how many pharmacies will go under. Most are trying to trade their way out of difficulty on the basis that some income coming in is better than none and things are bound to pick up, although there is no sign of it. A lot of people are just working to pay their debts and the bank has taken over some leases, effectively becoming a landlord in some cases. Chains are using their good stores to prop up the less busy ones. Banks and creditors seem to prefer to see people still trading so that they are getting something back even though it is hard to know how some of the over-inflated prices that were paid for businesses will ever be repaid now.

It is worth noting the amount of help the government had in the shafting operation from the drug companies, who got to keep what they really wanted - high prices for their on-patent drugs.
These are the same comapnies who want us to promote their over-priced OTC medicines although there are cheaper alternatives available. Let's just say their reps are getting a hard time at the moment.