This article is from page 7 of the 2006-02-28 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 7 JPG
CLARE pharmacists have this week voiced their opposition to locating pharmacies in health centres, claiming it would reduce patient choice.
The pharmacists have also highlighted the potential risks to patient safety, if a doctor were to have a financial interest in a pharmacy and the traditional divide between doctor and pharmacist was not maintained.
It is current Government policy that there should be no business relationship of any kind between prescriber and dispenser. Pharmacists are calling on the Government to implement this policy, in the “interests of patient safety and patient choice”.
Responding to suggestions that this was merely the pharmacists looking out for their own interests, Shannon pharmacist Feidhlim Hillery, said that while pharmacy was a business, patients welfare was the first concern of pharmacists, as it was with doctors.
Dr Hillery said while pharmacies in health centres seemed to offer the patient a convenient one-stop shop, they were convenient for the small number of times that most patients needed to go to a pharmacy immediately after attending a doctor.
“However, what about all the other occasions when somebody needs to go to a pharmacy? People may only need the services of a doctor twice a year, but many need to go to a pharmacy every month to obtain repeat medication.
“The pharmacies that are located in health centres, are generally not as convenient for people as their local community pharmacy, as health centres tend to be located on the outskirts of towns. Many patients, particularly those who are most vulnerable in the community and those who are dependent on public transport, would be deprived of easy access to pharmacy services,” he said.
“If pharmacies are allowed to operate in these centres, it will enable one pharmacy to corner the market and will undermine the viability of other pharmacies in the neighbourhood, leading to closures. Ireland currently has a very wide network of pharmacies around the country, with many pharmacies operating late-night services, seven days a week.
“However, a reduction in the number of pharmacies in the community would mean reduced patient choice. We accept that doctors operate to the highest standards, however it is vital that patients can feel confident that there is no commercial relationship between a prescriber and a dispenser,” he added.