The price of medicines will be unstable in the next few weeks as pharmacists clear out old stocks and replace it with new, undiscounted stock in terms of new legislation, the Pharmaceutical Society of South Africa (PSSA) warned on Tuesday.
And the PSSA said although the controversial Medicines and Related Substance Act will ultimately bring the price of medicines down, it questioned why the legislation was introduced before many of its main points had been finalised. The society is seeking an urgent meeting with the Department of Health.
Consumers have already started complaining of increases up to 30% in the price of medication. Section 18A of the Medicines and Related Substances Act, gazetted last week, makes it a criminal offence to offer discounts or incentives in medicine sales throughout the entire supply chain.
”The public must understand that if pharmacists now provide discounts or any other incentives, such as waiving medical schemes levies, they will be committing criminal offences,” the PSSA said in a statement.
”Although prices may be unstable for a while, as old stock is sold and replaced with new stock, these changes can clean up the market place by making prices transparent and consistent, and ultimately reduce the price of medicines to consumers.”
But, the PSSA believes the law should have been phased in to ”wash out” old stock and is concerned that the single exit prices, which will regulate prices charged by manufacturers, and which sets the basis of their dispensing fees, are not ready yet.
According to the single exit price system, manufacturers and the Department of Health must set the price of medicine based on a formula of the past year’s sales, prices and discounts, and have to print the price on a medicine’s packaging.
They are expected to come into effect on August 2.
And while pharmaceutical companies calculate how this will affect their profits, pharmacists have managed to secure a meeting with Department of Health officials on Friday to discuss their concerns.
These include new dispensing-fee caps, which they believe will force many pharmacists out of business.
Fees for schedule one and two medication, without a prescription, are set at 16% of the single exit price of a medicine less than R100 or R16 if the substance is more than R100.
For schedules three, four, five, six, seven and eight of the Act, and schedules one and two for which a prescription has been written, the fees must not exceed 26% if less than R100, and R26 if more than R100.
”It is becoming increasingly difficult to manage the anger and frustration of our members. The perception among community pharmacists is that government has sent a strong message that they are irrelevant and not wanted. South African pharmacists are among the most sought-after pharmacists in the world,” said Clive Stanton, deputy president of the PSSA.
PSSA president Mahomed Siddiq Tayob said that though pharmacists are considering legal or mass action, the first priority is to engage the Department of Health in constructive discussion. — Sapa