Adrian,
> One of the little difficulties of being in a unified funding stream
> with one's colleagues is that some are at present being paid to
> prescribe higher volumes of more expensive drugs.
>
> I refer to dispensing doctors.

So far as I am aware there is no evidence that they actually do so.

> It seems an inescapable conclusion to me that we should approach the
> task of supplying drugs etc in primary care as a single system across
> the PCGs.
Why? Surely the basis of PCG's is that each will be better able manage
itself to meet the needs of it's own patients? A system of supply which is
appropriate to one PCG might not be appropriate to another.

> Therefore all community pharmacies can expect to be incorporated into
> the PCG.

I wish that could happen, but I don't expect Dr Crown to go that far.

> This will immediately tackle the two problems of useless nostrums
> (nostra?) being dispensed for cash, and of waste of money which the
> population are clearly happy indeed eager to pay for what they are lead
> to believe is health care IE buying such mixtures for their cough etc.

No it wont. You assume that cough medicines etc are supplied only from
pharmacies, they are not. We don't even have the greatest share of the
market. It's true that pharmacy has the monopoly on the P medicines, but
most non prescription only medicines are general sale list (GSL). There is
still the whole unlicensed market of supplements.

> Pharmacists will be taken into the NHS on salaries, or perhaps allowed
> a profit share along with the other shareholding entrants to the PCGs,
> the GPs.
>

As you know, I'm in favour of the idea of pharmacists as practice partners.
Contract limitations that exist within pharmacy make the idea of moving
pharmacies into surgeries without the agreement of a pharmacy contract
holder
willing to relocate almost impossible. Even if the PCG finds pharmacies
willing to relocate, it will be objected to by other pharmacy contract
holders who could be affected by such a move.

I think that a more likely scenario is going to be built around the Crown
report part 1, with an increased use of protocols (including PCG protocols
for pharmacy treatments for minor illnesses)



Regards and  goodbye
 
Jeff
 
Jeff Green
-Community Locum and Consultant Pharmacist-
[log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]>


> -----Original Message-----
> From: [log in to unmask]
> [mailto:[log in to unmask]]On Behalf Of Adrian Midgley
> Sent: 25 April 1998 18:30
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: PCGs need to take over pharmacies and dispensing Drs [wasRe:
> RE: Panorama]



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