Pharmacists on the Cape Peninsula closed shop on Wednesday following threats of arrest from customers angry that they are not charging prices laid down by law, following last week’s reintroduction of medicine-pricing regulations, a pharmacist said.
”We will stay closed until we get leave to appeal,” said Stephen White, owner of Forest Glade pharmacy in Tokai. ”People will have to go to state facilities for their medicine.”
He said pharmacists do not want to comply with the regulations and if they stay open, they will be breaking the law.
”I would rather take charge of my own destiny than roll over with my legs in the air,” said White.
This follows the reintroduction of medicine-pricing regulations after Friday’s unsuccessful Cape High Court bid by pharmacists to have them overturned. By law, pharmacists cannot charge more than a R26 dispensing fee for medication, which they have vehemently opposed since its introduction in May.
They are also compelled to charge only the single exit price of medicine — the price set by the manufacturer — and are not allowed to add their own mark-up.
An application for leave to appeal has been lodged. If this is granted it will be followed by an application to have the regulations suspended again, pending the outcome of the appeal.
White said the decision to close shop came after customers threatened a fellow pharmacist in the Cape with police charges if he did not operate according to the reinstated regulations.
”The closures were just a spontaneous thing but I’ve been told all the pharmacies on the Peninsula are closed and we will stay closed until tomorrow, or until we get our leave to appeal,” White said.
He said pharmacists refuse to comply with the regulations because they will put them out of business.
”For years we have been promised that things would get better. In Lapa Munnik and Rina Venter’s days [health ministers from the apartheid administration], we were told to drop the fancy goods, now we must make our profits from the fancy goods.
”I might as well open a pizza shop in the front with a dispensing counter at the back,” he said.
Pharmaceutical Society of South Africa president Ivan Kotze said customers who threatened to lay charges ”didn’t understand the plight of pharmacists”.
He said the dispensing fees leave them with very little to pay their overheads.
”If we are expected to cross-subsidise with hair brushes we would have opened fancy goods shops,” he said. ”It’s totally against business principles.”
Department of Health supports customers
However, the Department of Health said it supports the customer actions and encouraged the public to lay complaints with the South African Pharmacy Council.
”Pharmacists are holding customers to ransom,” said Humphrey Zokufa, cluster manager in the department’s pharmaceutical policy and planning division.
”The regulations kicked in on Friday and they will remain in place until the outcome of an appeal application or if an interim order to have them suspended is granted.
”Pharmacists can do what they like if they are granted interim relief. When the regulations were suspended, I was told they were charging up to 40% to 50% dispensing fees. If they get an interim order they will hold customers to ransom again over the three to four months [the duration of an appeal].”
Zokufa said the public is entitled to ask their pharmacists how much they are charging for dispensing and to check the single exit price.
For schedule one and two prescription drugs, the dispensing fee is 16% with a R16 limit. For higher schedule drugs, the fee is set at 26% with a maximum of R26 based on the single exit price.
”If they are charged higher than R26 for a dispensing fee they must shop around. Dis-Chem is already rolling out the R26 maximum,” said Zokufa.
He said that although the dispensing fees were temporarily suspended, the single exit price regulations had remained in force throughout the court challenge and by law this already has to be printed on medicine packaging.
Zokufa said some companies are battling to get their packaging up to date so the pharmacist is supposed to include the single exit price on the instruction label on dispensed medicine.
He added that the law states the maximum penalty for non-compliance is a jail term of 10 years but this would be left to a magistrate’s discretion. — Sapa
Complaints should be directed to the South African Pharmacy Council on Tel: 012 319 8500