Pharmacies will be required to display clear information about the cost of their services from December, under new guidance issued by the regulator.
In April, Minister for Health Jennifer Carroll MacNeill announced that the Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland – the pharmacy regulator – will develop new guidelines on the transparency of pricing in respect of services provided by pharmacies – including dispensing fees.
On Thursday, the organisation published its guidance, which contained two key recommendations.
From December 1st, pharmacies will be required to display information about the cost of all professional services on a clear notice in a conspicuous location, visible to patients.
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From January, patients will receive a detailed receipt for any transaction, outlining the costs of the medicine, dispensing fee (where applicable) and the cost of any other professional service.
The new guidance comes following lengthy negotiations between the department and the sector earlier this year over the provision of free hormone replacement therapy (HRT) to treat symptoms of menopause.
The scheme was supposed to be introduced last January but was only introduced in June, with the department internally stating that the delay was related to a reluctance on the part of pharmacists to disclose how much they charge as a professional fee for their services.
It was in light of this that the Minister announced the regulator had been asked to develop these guidelines.
Joanne Kissane, registrar of the Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland (PSI), said pricing information is “essential to empower individuals to make informed healthcare decisions”.
“While we do not determine the prices charged by pharmacies, patients have a right to transparent and accurate information on the price of the medicines and health services they access,” she said.
“Transparency of fees and pricing maintains and enhances public confidence in pharmacists and enables patients to make informed decisions about their health and treatment. The new guidance will provide patients with an improved understanding of the fees they pay for the products and services they use in pharmacies.”
Ms Carroll MacNeill welcomed the publication of the guidelines, describing community pharmacies as being “among the most trusted and accessible healthcare professionals”.
“This guidance will strengthen that trust even further, with access to information about the cost of services pharmacists deliver being made available to the public for the first time,” she said.
The new guidance comes following a report from the Health Research Board which found expanding the role of pharmacists in prescribing could be “cost-effective while maintaining patient safety and treatment effectiveness outcomes”.
Over the coming months, the role of pharmacists will be expanded to include a common-conditions service, under which pharmacists will be able to prescribe treatments for a range of common conditions, including conjunctivitis, oral thrush, shingles, impetigo, uncomplicated UTI and vulvovaginal thrush.
