Dispensing doctors accused pharmacists on Wednesday of trying to deprive the poor of cheap medication following the Pharmaceutical Society of South Africa’s (PSSA) call for its members to object to their dispensing licences.
And the Department of Health, concerned that it has only issued slightly more than 200 licences, issued a statement urging doctors who do not have their licences yet to do the paperwork ”urgently” as the new deadline looms.
At its annual general meeting in Port Elizabeth this week, the PSSA, which represents about 5 000 pharmacists, resolved to urge its members to invoke sections of the new Medicines and Related Substance Act and oppose doctors’ licence applications to protect their revenues.
The Act has had both pharmacists and doctors up in arms — pharmacists because their dispensing fees have been capped, which they say threatens their viability, and dispensing doctors because they believe it is unnecessary to reapply for licences they were given when they qualified.
Part of the regulations, intended to cut the costs of medication and make the industry more transparent, are that doctors submit information on the number of health-care workers within a 5km radius.
PSSA deputy president Clive Stanton said the society will not object to dispensing doctors near pharmacies in areas obviously underserviced or where patients are restricted by geographic factors like a river.
”But in Port Elizabeth, for example, there is a situation of a dispensing doctor who got his licence, but there are 13 pharmacies within a 3,5km radius of him. That is inappropriate,” Stanton said.
Stanton said the PSSA is merely asking the government to enforce its own regulations and be more selective when granting the licences.
”We are saying to our members object if you have grounds, even if you think it is pointless, because it may be useful later,” Stanton said.
However, the National Convention on Dispensing said it is surprised by the move.
”It is regrettable that pharmacists, who I hold in high esteem, have taken a decision that they don’t care about the poor,” convention spokesperson Norman Mabasa said.
”It would be narrow-minded for anyone to think that access is restricted to distance and availability. Access to us is not just an ability to reach an area, it is an inability to pay for medication.”
He said that even an assistant in an expensive Sandton boutique, surrounded by pharmacies, could not afford to buy medication from a pharmacist and would need a dispensing doctor.
Dispensing doctors usually offer a package deal of a consultation plus medication to their patients for an average fee of R120. They say they cater to poor people under-served by state health facilities and people who do not want to wait in long queues.
Mabasa added that they also made an effort to find cheaper alternatives to chronic medication whereas ”a pharmacy doesn’t care if something costs R40 or R500”.
Dispensing doctors were initially slow to apply for their licences, resisting the associated requirements of providing disease demographics, completing a dispensing course and advertising in the media their intention to apply.
They also felt that the clause relating to the number of health-care providers within a 5km radius might lead to their applications being turned down, so felt the process was pointless.
Eager to encourage the doctors to apply, the Department of Health subsequently issued a statement saying that ”almost everyone” will get their dispensing licence and a Pretoria High Court ruling has extended the deadline for applications to June 2.
However, a statement from the Department of Health on Wednesday said only 206 health-care workers had been granted their licences by last Friday.
Although the department is working very hard, it will be ”humanly impossible” to process the anticipated deluge of applications leading up to the new deadline.
The department has received 3 500 applications for dispensing licences, while 6 726 health professionals have registered for the dispensing course and 462 of these have completed the course.
Spokesperson Harry Mchunu urged doctors to submit their applications urgently and to send in the certificates that prove they have completed the dispensing course.
”Failure to acquire a dispensing licence means that such an individual will not be able to dispense medicines after the deadline,” he said. — Sapa