Private pharmacies want higher CDAP fees

PRESIDENT of the Pharmacy Board, Wazir Hosein said the $10 service charge for each item dispensed by private pharmacies in the Chronic Disease Assistance Programme (CDAP) should be increased. Hosein acknowledged that the fee has been a “sore point” for some but said it was “a subsidised value” which the Board got its members to agree to because CDAP was a pilot programme. CDAP has expanded three times since being launched in 2003. Last month it was expanded to cover all nationals with noncommunicable diseases, including hypertension, diabetes, asthma and depression. Health Minister John Rahael said the private pharmacies have said CDAP is not profitable for them and asked the Ministry to bring in an accounting firm to look at the programme.

He said the fee arrangement with the pharmacists was entered into before he became Health Minister. Hosein told Newsday pharmacies want an impact assessment study done “to quantify the impact on retail because of the expansion and come up with an economically viable referral fee for the services rendered.” He said the $10 fee was for storage, labelling and packaging of medications dispensed in CDAP. “Pharmaceutical care is also part of the fee.” Hosein said CDAP functioned as if the Government opened 22 new pharmacies at no cost. “The infrastructure to run the programme is borne by the private pharmacists.”

He said the cost of the service provided must be taken in context. He added that since the pilot programme was launched, it has expanded to a “full fledged programme.” Hosein said there may be more people accessing the programme at private pharmacies but this also means more expense for them. He said pharmacists also had to deal with their other customers. He said people should not “put on blinkers” about the issue. According to CDAP statistics from Nipdec and Ministry of Health, since the programme started and up to October 7 this year, a total of 437,441 fee claims were made. The value payable to pharmacies was $4,350,360. There are 223 pharmacies taking part in the programme.