The Well being Insurance coverage Organisation (HIO) on Thursday urged pharmacies to hold out their duties correctly, following the invention of latest irregularities within the filling of prescriptions.
This reminder comes after a number of pharmacists have been scrutinised over billing points final Might. As the manager authority of the Basic Healthcare System (GHS), the HIO is accountable for overseeing its administration.
In response, the Cyprus Pharmaceutical Affiliation (CPA) stated that those who consider “that we’re violating the legislation or utilizing incorrect practices within the administration of medicines, they need to current proof to the affiliation relatively than making baseless accusations.”
The newest reminder follows an investigation final 12 months into related irregularities, which uncovered points in 100 prescriptions throughout 80 pharmacies. HIO Director Constantinos Panayidis stated that previous investigations had revealed prescriptions issued after sufferers had died, in addition to medicines collected by employees or relations from nursing houses.
The HIO says the portions, sorts and whereabouts of the medication in query remained unclear. Panayidis stated that relations weren’t allowed to gather medicines however harassed that “we perceive that the pharmacists typically attempt to meet sufferers’ wants.” Because of this, no penalties have been imposed on the pharmacies.
“Allotting treatment with out a prescription or to relations just isn’t allowed until it’s an emergency. In such instances, it needs to be mentioned between the physician and the pharmacist,” Panayidis defined.
“We consider the pharmacies understood the problem and acted with good intentions to serve their sufferers, which is comprehensible, however the legislation is the legislation”, he concluded.
Chatting with the Cyprus Mail, CPA Chairman Ploutarchos Georgiades expressed frustration over the HIO’s renewed deal with the problem.
He defined that final 12 months’s investigation primarily examined antibiotics distributed through the pandemic. “Docs would instruct us to provide the affected person the treatment and guarantee us they might enter the prescription later within the day. We adopted their directions however typically didn’t obtain the prescription till the subsequent day,” he stated.
Georgiades emphasised that pharmacies haven’t any means of figuring out if a affected person has died. “If the system permits a transaction to undergo, that’s a difficulty with the GHS, not with us,” he stated.
He additional dismissed any claims of economic profit for pharmacies. “For every field of treatment, we obtain simply €1.50 from the GHS. If a medicine prices €9, the GHS covers the price and provides a €0.50 service payment, whereas the affected person pays one other €1 – no one may probably revenue from this”, he elaborated.
Georgiades echoed the broader stance of pharmacists, emphasizing that they continue to be on the entrance traces, collaborating with all businesses to make sure the very best service for GHS beneficiaries. He referred to as for accusations to be made responsibly and primarily based on strong proof.
