Pharmacies are reducing their opening hours because dispensing fees are currently “unsustainable”. 

Dispensing fees are paid by the HSE to pharmacists for each item of medication a patient purchases and Irish Pharmacy Union President Dermot Twomey said they urgently need to be increased to maintain service levels.  

Many community pharmacies have begun to close earlier in the evening and their weekend opening hours have also been reduced. 

“We’ve had a community pharmacy pay freeze for over 15 years,” he told The Pat Kenny Show. 

“The average fee per item that we were paid in 2009 versus now is completely different. 

“So much so that we’re paid 24% less per item now than we were in 2009.” 

A woman next to a pharmacy. Anna Berkut / Alamy

Currently, pharmacists are paid on average €4.58 per item they dispense - €1.42 less than the average they were paid in 2009. 

It is, Mr Twomey feels, a recipe for disaster. 

“Ultimately we have to ensure that the core dispensing fee is sustainable going forward and into the future,” he said. 

“That will then allow us to provide extra services that the public need. 

“So, in order for that to happen, we believe the core fee needs to increase because it’s currently unsustainable while there’s increasing costs in terms of labour and other overheads providing a service.” 

Profit

A number of pharmacies have contacted the IPU to say they are operating at a loss - with rural pharmacies particularly affected. 

“In our survey, 10% of pharmacies are loss making,” Mr Twomey said. 

“For 35%, [they] make an operating profit of less than 10%. 

“So, the reality is into the future, these pharmacies are going to be under threat [and] many of them can be in rural and deprived areas.” 

The Minister for Health is required to review dispensing fees every third year before June 30th and the IPU is seeking a meeting with the Minister before the deadline.

Main image: A pharmacist and customer. Picture by: Alamy.com