Prescriptions.

rovers2001

F**k me made a visit to the Doctor today as i have not been feeling to well lately.Anyway as expected recieved an Antibiotic plus a cream Prescription from him and he duely charged me €55.
The shock came in the Chemist when the total for Antibiotic and cream amounted to €100.06..... Now im really sick jesus i wont be getting sick again in a hurry.

FluffyCat

Yep, being sick is hard on the pocket!! And remember you drugs were at a reduced price so I suppose it could have been worse!!
I have to be dying before I drag myself to a doctor!!

TouchingVirus

At least if you get sick again this month, or a family member does, you'll only have to pay €20 for their medicine and get the rest of the cost covered as long as you are on the Drugs Payment Scheme.

pharmacist

What cream was it?
Most antibiotics are not expensive so I assume it was the cream that made up the bulk of the price?

rovers2001

Hi Pharmacist
Yes your right cream was very expensive its called Dovobet still a shock though when heard the price:eek:I dont go the Doctor much so much so that when i went i was actually at wrong building:)he moved two years ago.

pharmacist

The prices of most drugs have come down. for example klacid LA the antibiotic for respiratory infections etc is only €8.26 now.
Dovobet is very expensive because it has not come off-patent yet. When it does and the drug manufacturers can make a generic version and it will be much cheaper.

anotherlostie

Are there that many examples of generic topical products out there? The Fucidin range, also by the same company, has never faced generic competition and it's long off patent. Dovonex Cream/ Ointment is on the market since the mid 90s so I'd have thought its patent would have expired by now. Are there any generic Calcipotriol products yet?

I thought all non-generic products were reduced by 40% in January. I know things like Lipitor were.

macadam

pharmacist wrote: »

The prices of most drugs have come down. for example klacid LA the antibiotic for respiratory infections etc is only €8.26 now.
Dovobet is very expensive because it has not come off-patent yet. When it does and the drug manufacturers can make a generic version and it will be much cheaper.

Got a prescription for klacid la 500mg today €60.98, thats a long way off your €8.26 any idea why?

RobFowl

macadam wrote: »

Got a prescription for klacid la 500mg today €60.98, thats a long way off your €8.26 any idea why?

That was a rip off.....

amjon.

macadam wrote: »

Got a prescription for klacid la 500mg today €60.98, thats a long way off your €8.26 any idea why?

What was the name of the pharmacy?

Nonoperational

How many tabs? That sounds like a mistake. I'd check it up.

sam34

amjon. wrote: »

What was the name of the pharmacy?

please don't name any pharmacy here.

macadam

Is there a big difference in price from chemist to chemist

Nonoperational

Nope. Very little difference.

macadam

gpf101 wrote: »

How many tabs? That sounds like a mistake. I'd check it up.

14 tablets one twice a day

pharmacist

thats klacid forte 500mg if you are getting 14 one twice a day but still that is around €12.50 for 14 in most pharmacies.
The prices have just come down so either the pharmacy has not updated their system or there has been a mistake.

bythewoods

pharmacist wrote: »

thats klacid forte 500mg if you are getting 14 one twice a day but still that is around €12.50 for 14 in most pharmacies.
The prices have just come down so either the pharmacy has not updated their system or there has been a mistake.

Can I just ask, is that €12.50 the retail price, or is that before markup/ dispensing fee etc?

Nonoperational

Definitely go back and ask about that price. Not right at all.

pharmacist

€12.50 is the final price after mark up and dispensing fee

macadam

The OH went to another chemist this morning and was quoted €11.95 she went back to the chemist where they were purchased asked the manager to check it out and she came back red faced full of apologies €13.95 that was some mistake.
Thanks again boardsies €47 rescued from greedy chemists..

amjon.

macadam wrote: »

Thanks again boardsies €47 rescued from greedy chemists..

It was a mistake, greed was not involved. No chemist would charge four times the going rate as they would lose to many customers.

macadam

amjon. wrote: »

It was a mistake, greed was not involved. No chemist would charge four times the going rate as they would lose to many customers.

How many mistakes can one chemist make, there are only two chemists where I live and this is the 4th or 5th mistake this year with me anyway, letter to the MD of this chain on the way.

FluffyCat

macadam wrote: »

greedy chemists..

Thats a bit harsh! Mistakes, believe it or not they are only mistakes! Every week when I do my shop I have to return with a list of stuff I was charged incorrectly for! It just a mistake

dolallyoh

macadam wrote: »

14 tablets one twice a day

8-15 quid sounds right.

bleg

As a pharmacist, nothing I like more than screwing people out of their money.:rolleyes:

pharmacist

sounds like an honest mistake. If the pharmacy is a chain like you say then the pharmacist would have nothing to gain by over-charging you.

Nonoperational

I'm a pharmacist too and I'd say it's more carelessness than an attampt to screw ya. I don't know of any pharmacists that would blatantly screw a customer like that.

Nice one on getting your money anyway.

macadam

As I said this is 4 times I have been overcharged,I spoke to the manager she went back through my purchases and I was overcharged before for these in January but cannot get a refund she is sorting me out with a voucher.
I only inquired after someone else brought it to my attention regarding this Pharmacy, surely they cant make all these mistakes and not do anything about it.

Nonoperational

Sounds very very poor. I have never experienced anything like that and if I was you I'd be annoyed too. I have overcharged people by mistake but maybe only once or twice in 3 years and never the same person 4 times!

eastbono

Got same antibiotic during the week... so doubled checked receipt €10.95. Got nasonex today €26... quite expensive I thought.

Ihaveanopinion

macadam wrote: »

Got a prescription for klacid la 500mg today €60.98, thats a long way off your €8.26 any idea why?

the problem here was probably that you got a brand name - 'Klacid' - and not the generic Clarithromycin.

If the trade name is prescribed the Trade name - then the pharmacist can dispense the more expensive preparation. If the generic one is prescribed, then you get the cheapest version.

Make sure your doctor prescribes the generic drug to get the cheapest possible option

bleg

Some of the generic brands are more expensive than the branded ones!

Ihaveanopinion

bleg wrote: »

Some of the generic brands are more expensive than the branded ones!

not quite true - a 'generic' drug means the chemical name of the drug - rather than a brand name. In other words an antibiotic like amoxicillin is manufactured by a number of companies and comes under names like Amoxil and Clonamox. If the doctor prescribes the drug under the generic (ie. chemical ) name 'Amoxicillin', the pharmicist then dispenses (or should dispense) the cheapest one.

RobFowl

Ihaveanopinion wrote: »

not quite true - a 'generic' drug means the chemical name of the drug - rather than a brand name. In other words an antibiotic like amoxicillin is manufactured by a number of companies and comes under names like Amoxil and Clonamox. If the doctor prescribes the drug under the generic (ie. chemical ) name 'Amoxicillin', the pharmicist then dispenses (or should dispense) the cheapest one.

Not a correct reply at all, Bleg is completely right.
A lot of branded drugs are now cheaper than the generics.Under Irish law if the generic version is prescribed the pharmacist id free to dispense whichever version they want not necessarily the cheapist.
Ideally Irish Doctors should prescribe the cheapist branded version of the drug.

Ihaveanopinion

RobFowl wrote: »

Not a correct reply at all, Bleg is completely right.
A lot of branded drugs are now cheaper than the generics.Under Irish law if the generic version is prescribed the pharmacist id free to dispense whichever version they want not necessarily the cheapist.
Ideally Irish Doctors should prescribe the cheapist branded version of the drug.

You misunderstand me. If the doctor prescribes the generic version - then the pharmacist is at liberty to dispense the cheapest version of the medication. If the doctor prescribes a brand name drug - then they have to prescribe that particular formulation of it. I would be very impressed if many doctors were able to keep up with current medication prices and which version is the cheapest.


Therefore - if you use the generic name of the medication on the prescription, the pharmacist should be giving you the cheapest version of it.

bleg

Yea but doctors don't usually use the generic name, they usually use a generic brand, like Ramilo or Amlid for ramipril and amlodipine respectively.

Oh and there is a difference between the generic name and the branded generic name...

locum-motion

bleg wrote: »

Some of the generic brands are more expensive than the branded ones!

Ihaveanopinion wrote: »

not quite true ...

RobFowl wrote: »

Not a correct reply at all, Bleg is completely right...

Ihaveanopinion wrote: »

You misunderstand me...

I think you are the one doing the misunderstanding here.

Bleg's statement was not only 100% correct, but also easily verifiable.
There's a very special kind of arrogance involved when someone says "Not quite true" to such a statement and then "You misunderstand me" when they're pulled up on it.

Would you not just have the balls to hold up your hand and say "I'm sorry, I misunderstood you"?

You are at the bottom of a deep hole. Stop digging.

macadam

locum-motion wrote: »

I think you are the one doing the misunderstanding here.

Bleg's statement was not only 100% correct, but also easily verifiable.
There's a very special kind of arrogance involved when someone says "Not quite true" to such a statement and then "You misunderstand me" when they're pulled up on it.

Would you not just have the balls to hold up your hand and say "I'm sorry, I misunderstood you"?

You are at the bottom of a deep hole. Stop digging.

Easy...............

ORLY?

Ihaveanopinion wrote: »

not quite true - a 'generic' drug means the chemical name of the drug - rather than a brand name. In other words an antibiotic like amoxicillin is manufactured by a number of companies and comes under names like Amoxil and Clonamox. If the doctor prescribes the drug under the generic (ie. chemical ) name 'Amoxicillin', the pharmicist then dispenses (or should dispense) the cheapest one.

People have been giving you a hard time over this, I don't agree. You got confused between generic and generic brand but your point still stands that GPs should be prescribing generic all the time. Then the pharmacist should give the cheapest version. It's not for GPs to be keeping track of prices of brands, they can change all the time and are different in different jurisdictions, as are the names. A locum from Oz/Asia might not be familiar with the names used here. Using generic names all the time is by far the most sensible option.

Ihaveanopinion

locum-motion wrote: »

You are at the bottom of a deep hole. Stop digging.

Hey - I'm just trying to make a point - getting insulting has no part to play in a discussion!

Define Generic brand- a simple search
http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8&q=define+generic+brand

a. Not having a brand name
b. Of or being a drug sold under or identified by its official nonproprietary or chemical name

Not to be pedantic - but generic implies the drug name - which as Orly said - is how drugs should be prescribed. The original patented name is what people typically call the 'brand name' but other companies produce their version of the drug under their own brand once the patent expires.

anotherlostie

I seem to remember this being explained to me before when I worked in pharmacy that the computerised programmes used to generate scripts in GPs surgeries could not write up the generic name of the drug (e.g. atenolol) and instead had to choose a branded generic (e.g. Atenomel) which Irish law then insisted on the pharmacy dispensing meaning the pharmacy I worked in kept every brand available even though there would have been no issue with generic substitution in this case. Keeping all those brands, including the ones you didn't ever dispense cost money.

That was over 10 years ago and it looks like things haven't changed?

smtdos

Pharmacists have a business to run, in the case where a drug is written generically on a script, they will dispense the generic that makes them the most profit, not necessarily the cheapest for the customer.

FluffyCat

smtdos wrote: »

Pharmacists have a business to run, in the case where a drug is written generically on a script, they will dispense the generic that makes them the most profit, not necessarily the cheapest for the customer.

I work in a pharmacy and have never seen that happen. To be honest there is very little profit anyway.

The biggest problem is that we have to dispense what is on the script. To dispense otherwise is classed as fraud.

Also they will dispense what generic product they have. It would be impossible to stock all generic brands and with the recent cuts the branded product may be the cheapest for both the pharmacist and patient to buy

smtdos

FluffyCat wrote: »

I work in a pharmacy and have never seen that happen. To be honest there is very little profit anyway.

The biggest problem is that we have to dispense what is on the script. To dispense otherwise is classed as fraud.

Also they will dispense what generic product they have. It would be impossible to stock all generic brands and with the recent cuts the branded product may be the cheapest for both the pharmacist and patient to buy

Im not suggesting stocking all generic brands as an option but surely the one stocked should be the most profitable.

Gone are the days of stocking the generic of your favourite/most charming rep, the one with the best bonus is picked.

bleg

smtdos wrote: »

Im not suggesting stocking all generic brands as an option but surely the one stocked should be the most profitable.

Gone are the days of stocking the generic of your favourite/most charming rep, the one with the best bonus is picked.

If that was the case then all pharmacies would have the exact same generic profile... most definitely not the case.

smtdos

bleg wrote: »

If that was the case then all pharmacies would have the exact same generic profile... most definitely not the case.

I don't agree that pharmacies would end up with the same generic profile if the most profitable generic is stocked.

All pharmacies have different negotiating power and business acumen (e.g. chains) and hence end up stocking different generics based on deals agreed with reps.

deepimpact

smtdos wrote: »

Disagree. All pharmacies have different negotiating power and business acumen (e.g. chains) and hence end up stocking different generics based on deals agreed with reps.

Surely, you should agree with bleg on his last point then?

smtdos

scanlant wrote: »

Surely, you should agree with bleg on his last point then?

All I'm saying is that IMO pharmacies stock the most profitable generic for their business and that this may differ from pharmacy to pharmacy based on deals agreed. Apologies for being unclear with last post.

deepimpact

Ihaveanopinion wrote: »

Hey - I'm just trying to make a point - getting insulting has no part to play in a discussion!

Define Generic brand- a simple search
http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8&q=define+generic+brand

a. Not having a brand name
b. Of or being a drug sold under or identified by its official nonproprietary or chemical name

Not to be pedantic - but generic implies the drug name - which as Orly said - is how drugs should be prescribed. The original patented name is what people typically call the 'brand name' but other companies produce their version of the drug under their own brand once the patent expires.

You still miss the point.

Many originator medicines are now cheaper than their generic counterparts. That's the point, not the (factually correct btw) tangent you have taken.

deepimpact

smtdos wrote: »

All I'm saying is that IMO pharmacies stock the most profitable generic for their business and that this may differ from pharmacy to pharmacy based on deals agreed. Apologies for being unclear with last post.

You might want to edit your post then because you disagree with bleg's point then agree with it in the next sentence.

smtdos

scanlant wrote: »

You might want to edit your post then because you disagree with bleg's point then agree with it in the next sentence.

Done