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Boots told to stop selling Libre Sensors to patients!!

On my last Libre use (second time) we were told by the rep,abbott was increasing the production on Ireland which should make more senser available ?
 
andcol said:
yes and it is called price fixing and is illegal. They are dressing it up but they will get away with it because by the tie that any investigation happens they will have changed their policy
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Technically, it's not. It's a monopoly provider selling something to the NHS, and to the General public. They're allowed to quote different prices for "wholesale" and "retail". It's only price fixing where there is more than one company agreeing with another to manage prices in order to best meet whatever target they're aiming for.
 
 
Paul you are quite right - unfortunately some of the Meds Management teams are very short sighted. However they will then allow money to be wasted on repeating projects that have failed in the past
 
andcol said:
yes and it is called price fixing and is illegal. They are dressing it up but they will get away with it because by the tie that any investigation happens they will have changed their policy
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It’s not price fixing - clearly with respect there is a lack of understanding how the system works. There is the Drug Tariff price which is what the cost is to the NHS. This is agreed between the appropriate NHS bodies and the supplier. There could then be a retail price if the product can be purchased over the counter (OTC and P medicines) Libre Sensors are P class as are strips
If a patient has a prescription for the Sensors they will cost nothing as Diabetic patients do not pay for prescriptions
 
I have found out that for pharmacies to get the libre they must register with Abbott direct . They cannot get the libre through their normal wholesalers. The website for a pharmacy to register is www.freestylelibrepharmacyportal.co.uk
Takes a couple of days to go through . My daughter’s independent pharmacy has done it and she can now get a supply of them .
 
I did a bit of ringing around today - Sainsbury’s pharmacy said they could order me one and quoted a price of £63!!!
I politely declined........
 
smwsmw said:
I did a bit of ringing around today - Sainsbury’s pharmacy said they could order me one and quoted a price of £63!!!
I politely declined........
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Bluetit1802 said:
I got a similar answer from our local Lloyds pharmacy
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I have an email from Lloyds customer services stating that they are £52.50 if you are VAT exempt. You can contact them through the Lloyds website, took about a week to get an answer but you'll then have a letter to wave under the noses of the ill informed.

Sainsbury's instore pharmacy is a Lloyds? ( Ours is anyway). They are absolutetly clueless. Tesco pharmacist offered to order them for me but like a numpty I forgot to ask the price.
 
urbanracer said:
I have an email from Lloyds customer services stating that they are £52.50
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Ordered 2 last Sunday, supposedly on it's way and only £96.58 (HaHa), £5 cheaper that last time but still £26.58 more than Superdrug (High Wycombe) and taking 8 days rather than 24hrs. I ordered from Abbott this time to make sure I could still get them from Abbott. Not ideal but better than nothing.

 

My local Superdrug store said the same thing to me. I explained that it may be available on prescription in other areas... but not here. Then they happily put my order through....
 
CranberryIce said:
. I explained that it may be available on prescription in other areas... but not here. Then they happily put my order through....
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That's worth knowing as the Chiltern CCG (my area) were still telling GPs not to prescribe last month (may have changed). When the two I bought at Superdrug the other week have been used I'll go back and try my luck. Meanwhile Abbott should have delivered another two more expensive ones.
 
I'm one of the fortunate people who gets the sensors on prescription now, tho for 9 months I was purchasing them. I got them direct from the manufacturer. Never crossed my mind to try the pharmacy, though when I took my first prescription to Boots, they didn't know what it was for!
 
I ordered 2 from Superdrug last Thursday evening I paid for them when I ordered and am waiting for them to arrive - the pharmacist said they will call me but they should be here by Wednesday.

Saw my Consultant last week and even though London NW Trusts have agreed to prescribing of libre they have stipulated guidelines, one which I definitely meet is that by using libre strip usage will be reduced by 8 per day.

Would you believe it that because I have been self funding libre my strip usage has gone down but my Consultant told me they still have to refer to CCG before they can issue libre on prescription?!? And, that the evidence has to be from the past 3 months. I feel like I have shot myself in the foot by self funding . So I am now using libre purely for myself and strip testing for hospital purposes . He is putting in an IFA for dexcom because I meet NICE guidelines on a number of points but it was only after he spoke to my DSN that he agreed to do it and he said it might be rejected so I won’t hold my breath as I don’t get the feeling he will put up much of a fight for me. I hope I am wrong
 

And Germany and Austria etc etc. Everyone on Insulin (basal, bolus) is getting it on prescription since 2016!
 
I expect that people who have improved their A1c by self funding may also have excluded themselfs due to their A1c now being to good for the prescription guildlines.
 
Stand your ground, be firm, and don't take no for an answer.
 
ringi said:
I expect that people who have improved their A1c by self funding may also have excluded themselfs due to their A1c now being to good for the prescription guildlines.
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Absolutely my CCG state Hba1
ringi said:
I expect that people who have improved their A1c by self funding may also have excluded themselfs due to their A1c now being to good for the prescription guildlines.
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Absolutely, my CCG stipulated that HbA1c has to be greater than 69.4 (8.5). It’s laughable that the evidence prior to self-funding can’t be used e.g. my strip usage reduction - I even said that to my Consultant but he said it had to be from the past 3 months

I’d be interested to find out if other CCGs won’t use previous data for those who have improved by self-funding
 

If you can get this in writing from your Consultant and show that self-funding is the only reason you can not get NHS funding, I think you could win a legal action...........
 
ringi said:
I expect that people who have improved their A1c by self funding may also have excluded themselfs due to their A1c now being to good for the prescription guildlines.
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I did, my GP told me, being type II was obviously another factor.

Some additional info, just checked my local Boots for the second time in 2 weeks, and they still haven't got the memo. Just makes the whole issue more and more curious because obviously some Boots stores are refusing paying customers telling them they need a prescription. Really is a bit of a lottery. Must try my local Superdrug.
 
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