Pharmacists have a code of conduct to remove any barrier to a patient taking their prescribed medications. Prices range from €34 to €50 per month at pharmacies, a margin of up to 90%. She couldn’t afford it.Īnother example, and one that really irks me, is the cost of anastrozole – a breast cancer drug. The doctor had increased her dose which meant the price in her local pharmacy jumped to €44 per month. Recently, I got a call from a woman who had stopped taking her anti-depressant medication, sertraline. I feel strongly that affordable medicines should be a right, not a luxury. In fact, recent research from UCC shows that in Ireland anti- depressants are often the first medicines to be cut by patients when cost becomes an issue. Studies have shown that the cost of medicines can result in up to 20% of people not taking them. This was clearly a huge issue for Irish consumers. By the end of 2014, over 10,000 had joined. One week after launching we had 1,000 members signed up. Plus we’ll send a pharmacist to collect your prescription and deliver nationwide. Just sign up as a member and your medicines are available at similar prices to those in Spain and Northern Ireland. I started Healthwave pharmacy in 2014 to bring affordable medicine to everyone in Ireland. So why can’t we have these prices in Ireland? The fact that people were travelling abroad to purchase medicine meant that the system was failing. Stories of patients travelling from Cork to Newry and to Spain for their medicines became commonplace at the counters. It was becoming clear to me in early 2013 that the sector was fundamentally flawed with overpriced drugs. I used to dread bringing an inhaler out to a patient and asking for €85 when I knew how much of a mark-up the pharmacy was charging. You do however face the customers struggling to pay. As a locum covering holidays you don’t have any input into pricing. I began my pharmacist days working as a locum in various pharmacies across Munster. To generate such profit, the margins on drugs must be high and they are. Such margins are unheard of in the retail sector. The most recent report commissioned by the Irish Pharmacy Union into the financial performance of its members shows that the average pharmacy has a turnover of €1.57 million and an operating profit of €246,783 or 16%. Yet on the other hand, the owners are running a business and want to see profits. On the one hand, pharmacists are healthcare professionals trained to care for their patients.

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