News from a Bucks P.P.G.

[DavidGrahamJones]

My wife is an active participant of her surgeries Patient Participation Group and usually comes home from the meetings every two months with some interesting bits of information.

From last night's meeting she learned that most pharmacies don't get their drugs directly from the manufacturer, there's a middle man. The pharmacy has to pay the middle man whatever price he asks despite the NHS only reimbursing the pharmacy with a preset amount. The middle man can and by all accounts does, stockpile drugs to reduce supply and then up the cost.

She also learned that Boots will only obtain drugs from a list so in the case of my wife's surgery, it's not unusual for patients to not be able to use the Boots that's 100 yards away because they won't be able to get a particular drug.

4 months ago she learned that the GP has to personally check a patient's notes before they can be made available to that patient or another party on behalf of the patient. The cost of the surgeries indemnity insurance has escalated to cover the cost of potential mistakes. My understanding is that they have to remove any mention of third parties. There's a lot of information when I googled.

 

[DCUKMod]

My wife is an active participant of her surgeries Patient Participation Group and usually comes home from the meetings every two months with some interesting bits of information.

From last night's meeting she learned that most pharmacies don't get their drugs directly from the manufacturer, there's a middle man. The pharmacy has to pay the middle man whatever price he asks despite the NHS only reimbursing the pharmacy with a preset amount. The middle man can and by all accounts does, stockpile drugs to reduce supply and then up the cost.

She also learned that Boots will only obtain drugs from a list so in the case of my wife's surgery, it's not unusual for patients to not be able to use the Boots that's 100 yards away because they won't be able to get a particular drug.

4 months ago she learned that the GP has to personally check a patient's notes before they can be made available to that patient or another party on behalf of the patient. The cost of the surgeries indemnity insurance has escalated to cover the cost of potential mistakes. My understanding is that they have to remove any mention of third parties. There's a lot of information when I googled.

I think it's fair to point out that there is more than one middle man, although some pharmacies (and of course the chains) will have a preferred supplier to cut down on their admin and stock controls.

As I understand it, from a business owner whose products are stocked by such middle men, the meddle men can sourse anything; it's just whether they choose to do so. These wholesalers also usually have a "menu" of goods, plus "off-menu" items for some of the less usual stuff. Once the pharmacist has the owholesaler's ordering code for any item, they can usually order it at will.

 

[Oldvatr]

My wife is an active participant of her surgeries Patient Participation Group and usually comes home from the meetings every two months with some interesting bits of information.

From last night's meeting she learned that most pharmacies don't get their drugs directly from the manufacturer, there's a middle man. The pharmacy has to pay the middle man whatever price he asks despite the NHS only reimbursing the pharmacy with a preset amount. The middle man can and by all accounts does, stockpile drugs to reduce supply and then up the cost.

She also learned that Boots will only obtain drugs from a list so in the case of my wife's surgery, it's not unusual for patients to not be able to use the Boots that's 100 yards away because they won't be able to get a particular drug.

4 months ago she learned that the GP has to personally check a patient's notes before they can be made available to that patient or another party on behalf of the patient. The cost of the surgeries indemnity insurance has escalated to cover the cost of potential mistakes. My understanding is that they have to remove any mention of third parties. There's a lot of information when I googled.

These points are my experience too = absolutely. We do not have a PPG and our local PALS was cut two years ago.

 

[Rachox]

....the meddle men can sourse anything; .....

Freudian slip or typo?

 

[Oldvatr]

These points are my experience too = absolutely. We do not have a PPG and our local PALS was cut two years ago.

Pharmacies are independant businesses often private, so using a wholesaler makes perfect business sense. I think you will find your local supermarkets have similar supply chains and also will not supply everything we might want