PHARMACISTS UNITE AGAINST UNFAIR MEDICAL SCHEME PRACTICES

The public has the right to choose their service provider. The prescriber has the right to choose what medication to use for treating his patient. The prices charged by pharmaceutical companies need to be regulated together with the prices charged by by prescribers it should have been done back in 2002 as it was proposed to regulate prescribers fees, cost of medicines charged by drug companies and prices charged by pharmacists; up to now the pharmacist has been regulated but the other parties not. It appears to the public that it is the pharmacists who are making big profits when the opposite is true and they can barely scrape a living. We have lost so many pharmacies and the big pharmacy groups only survive because of front shop income.
The Medical aid schemes annually boast the profits that they make annually! They need to respect the choice of the public of a service provider and physician and not have to be forced to receive medicine from couriers who do not observe control and storage of medicines according to the regulations and continue to supply customers with incomplete orders that are also not maintaining the cold-chain or a temperature of less than 25degrees C.

Medical AIDS, specially Discovery are dictating to everyone, including government what they will and won't pay, there is a legislated pricing for medicines, ALL medical AIDS must pay this price, DSP' take away a patients choice. Time for Medical AIDS to be STOPPED!!!!!!!!!!!!

We are sick and tired of the dictatorship performed by the medical Aids on us.

Members of medical aids are being told where they must get their
prescriptions filled and this is usually at corporate pharmacies

#26: -  

 Medical aids are dictating what must happen. What ever happened to freedom of choice!  I contacted GEMS yesterday in connection with a member who now had to receive their chronic medication from another supplier or pay a levy

I also phoned another medical aid in connection with ARV treatment and there it was also a case of receive/collect your medication from "A" or pay a 40% co-payment when receiving it elsewhere!

Medical aids are busy dominating the entire health system in S.A. That is not in the interest of the patient.

It's about time, we voice out and be heard, SA council must come through for us, we're paying a lot of money for annual fee and we don't really know for what really,council must serve..

Medical aid contracts must be available for any pharmacy and not restricted to big chain phamacies that is suffocating the profession.

medical aids need to brought in line. they have far too much power in controlling where and when a patient may access health care and medication. what is the use of the DOH price structure if medical aids refuse to acknowledge it?

This cause speaks for itself....

Affordable Health Care cannot be possible in the future if the viability of the professional infrastructure that provides the services is systematically destroyed.

My profession is my income.

I have seen this regression over many years and am so happy that we are coming to a p[oint of saying NO MORE!!!

Yes I agree medical aids are not treating independent pharmacies well leading to closing of these pharmacies.

I think it is an excellent idea to be pro-active.

It is clear that medical schemes to the likes of Discovery are trying to regulate the public healthcare industry to their advantage. There is a lack of government involvement and Discovery are pushing every boundary as far as the can at the expense of professional careers.

Community Pharmacy has become unprofitable and hangs on the strings of the medical aids and their dictates. As a result the general population, both rural and urban dwellers are receiving poorer medical assistance and relying more and more on the government to provide pharmaceutical services which the public sector cannot afford to provide.

#38: -  

 Hear Hear !!!

#33: -  

 Where is the fairness in that ??? Surely its against the constitution to exclude the independant pharmacies ???

We need to be heard or else our profession dies.

Coz pharmacists are the castodians of pharmaceutical dupport services

B'cos of the unfair medical scheme practices

Action is long overdue. Pharmacy has been treated unfairly for to long.

If Pharmacist are not united , the profession is surely going down. Let us protect our hard earned degrees and bring dignity to our profession.

In the interest of our profession