Unusual prescription fee

rawn

Not sure if this is the correct forum?

My OH went to pick up my anxiety medication while I was in work. Since I've been on them I've never gotten the exact brand I've been prescribed (Efexor), it's always been something generic. When he went to pick it up the pharmacist "made a big deal" about saying they had no generic ones so she was going to give me the name brand one but it would be extra, and charged him €3-something rather than €2.50. He thought nothing of it but I'm just confused, is it normal to charge extra for a "name brand"?

palmcut

rawn wrote: »

Not sure if this is the correct forum?

My OH went to pick up my anxiety medication while I was in work. Since I've been on them I've never gotten the exact brand I've been prescribed (Efexor), it's always been something generic. When he went to pick it up the pharmacist "made a big deal" about saying they had no generic ones so she was going to give me the name brand one but it would be extra, and charged him €3-something rather than €2.50. He thought nothing of it but I'm just confused, is it normal to charge extra for a "name brand"?

A few years ago the Government brought in a policy of Generic substitution and reference pricing. The thinking was to increase the use of Generic drugs.Over the years a number of drugs have been "referenced".Once a drug has been referenced the pharmacist must in most cases dispense the generic. In most cases if the patient wants the Brand then the patient must pay the difference between the generic and the Brand reference price.(it is a little bit more complicated but that is the general gist.)

JonJones

rawn wrote: »

Not sure if this is the correct forum?

My OH went to pick up my anxiety medication while I was in work. Since I've been on them I've never gotten the exact brand I've been prescribed (Efexor), it's always been something generic. When he went to pick it up the pharmacist "made a big deal" about saying they had no generic ones so she was going to give me the name brand one but it would be extra, and charged him €3-something rather than €2.50. He thought nothing of it but I'm just confused, is it normal to charge extra for a "name brand"?

Is it a medical card prescription? If it is and the doctor writes Efexor the chemist can replace with a generic and if you want the branded one you pay extra. But if the doctor writes Efexor and adds "do not substitute" you have to get the branded for 2.50

If the doctor writes branded or generic but does not add "do not substitute" i am quite sure they have to tell you they do not have the generic before replacing it with a more expensive


Some of them ar every clever. Before the generic law they used to give a generic when a branded one was prescribed because they did not have the brand and wanted the order. I got a couple of them a kick in the arse from the relevant authority for it. Seemingly it was ok for them to break the law

locum-motion

For the relevant meds, if you choose to take the more expensive originator brand rather than the generic, the the pharmacist should charge you a co-pay.

If, on the other hand, the pharmacy doesn't have the generic in stock because of their own fault, then they should suck up the loss themselves, not charge you the co-pay.

Eurovisionmad

On occasion if a pharmacy is out of stock of the generic they might have to dispense the brand and since the reference pricing law has been passed the pharmacy can't waive the copay, you should go elsewhere in that case; no drug has a copay if there isn't a generic available at all!

locum-motion

Eurovisionmad wrote: »

On occasion if a pharmacy is out of stock of the generic they might have to dispense the brand and since the reference pricing law has been passed the pharmacy can't waive the copay, you should go elsewhere in that case; no drug has a copay if there isn't a generic available at all!

Incorrect. The pharmacy can waive the co-pay on anything they want. The only things they can't waive or discount are the Government-set amounts of €2.50 per item on medical card prescriptions or the €144 threshold on DPS prescriptions.

echo beach

locum-motion wrote: »

If, on the other hand, the pharmacy doesn't have the generic in stock because of their own fault, then they should suck up the loss themselves, not charge you the co-pay.

This is going to be an increasingly common scenario.
What happens when the generic companies all start to refuse to supply the reference price set by the government?
Who will pay when the only drugs available are the most expensive?

If the pharmacist didn't have the generic, probably through no fault of their own, then they should have offered the option of returning the prescription so the patient could try elsewhere OR pay the co-payment. Most people would rather pay €3 then trek around but it should be their choice. We are getting this story second-hand so we don't know exactly what happened.

echo beach

JonJones wrote: »

Some of them ar every clever. Before the generic law they used to give a generic when a branded one was prescribed because they did not have the brand and wanted the order. I got a couple of them a kick in the arse from the relevant authority for it. Seemingly it was ok for them to break the law

It is not ok for anybody to break the law. Have you any evidence for that claim? Can you name the relevant authority? I presume you mean the PSI who regulate pharmacists but I can't find any mention of pharmacists being sanctioned for this alleged activity. I'd like to see some proof.

rawn

I was in a hurry when i posted and forgot to mention the name brand she gave me wasn't Efexor it was Ireven, which is what i thought was odd!

palmcut

rawn wrote: »

I was in a hurry when i posted and forgot to mention the name brand she gave me wasn't Efexor it was Ireven, which is what i thought was odd!

All Community pharmacists received the following letter from the HSE.

Dear Community Pharmacist,
You will be only too aware of the great pressures that have been placed on health and social services by the national financial position and the consequent challenges presented to all of us to continue to deliver the range of services with a reduced budget.

In order to ensure that we avoid the more stringent constraints imposed in other jurisdictions eg caps on monies available for pharmaceuticals; we must make immediate improvements in the efficient management of medicines expenditure.

You will be aware legislation to deal with pricing and supply of medical goods will shortly be introduced by the Government. The legislation will provide for,
amongst other elements, reference pricing. In the interim, while we await the formal the formal legislation, the HSE asks that where possible the most cost effective generic product is dispensed.

.......
A reduction in the expenditure of medicines will provide the State with additional resourced to sustain health services eg hospital services, etc.

........
As the State works its way out of the current economic crisis, it behoves every citizen who has the opportunity to reduce health expenditure wihtout impacting on patient care, to play their part.

Yours faithfully,

Named individual.
Primary Care Reimbursement Service. (PCRS)

Euphoria Intensifies

rawn wrote:

I was in a hurry when i posted and forgot to mention the name brand she gave me wasn't Efexor it was Ireven, which is what i thought was odd!

Ireven is a generic venlafaxine though isn't it? It's what I always get anyway, and never have had to pay anything other than the 2.50 charge. I would definitely query that with the pharmacist.

JonJones

echo beach wrote: »

It is not ok for anybody to break the law. Have you any evidence for that claim? Can you name the relevant authority? I presume you mean the PSI who regulate pharmacists but I can't find any mention of pharmacists being sanctioned for this alleged activity. I'd like to see some proof.

the clever pharmacacists think it is and yes i have evidence and no i will not name any names or show any proof on a public website