Pharmacists unprepared for Call to Action, LPCs warn – 4Pharma’s response

In light of the ‘Call to Action’ consultation launched by the NHS on December 10^th, 2013, Local Pharmaceutical Committee’s (LPC) have voiced their concern over pharmacists not being in a position to make full use of such a platform.

Presented as a chance for pharmacists to share their thoughts on how they could contribute to the wider primary care strategy, the consultation’s success remains in doubt. With only two months left to respond, this doubt puts a big question mark over the future of the pharmacy sector.

While the North-East London LPC secretary Hemant Patel believes that a majority of pharmacists aren’t fully prepared, the PSNC have expressed some LPC’s concerns of pharmacists not realising the consultation’s importance.

A ‘Call to Action’ event organized by North-East London LPC on the 19^th of January, attended by about 100 pharmacists, has left Mr Patel worried about his LPC’s inability to present a detailed response to the consultation. Citing a reason for this, Mr Patel believes that having not been briefed on how the pharmacy sector could change over the next 5 years, pharmacists may not be able to give informed suggestions.

“They absolutely want to engage, but I’d say 80 per cent of [attendees] had not even gone to the [NHS England] website to download the [consultation] document,” – Mr Patel to C+D

It does not take a statistician to figure out the main hurdle that pharmacists are faced with on the regular. Rendering a pharmacist incapable of upholding his/her Public Service Obligation (PSO) and in turn diffusing the public’s faith in the pharmacy sector, ‘Drug Shortages’ have indeed landed a meaty blow on pharmacists and patients alike.

As far as suggestions to improve the pharmacy sector are concerned, the only suggestion that 4Pharma would like to give pharmacists in the UK is to ‘Wholesale’!

According to the MHRA, any entity holding a Wholesale Dealers Licence (WDL) is entitled to wholesale legally and ethically – Medicines Act 1968 & Human medicine regulation 2012. Obtaining a Wholesale Dealers Licence (WDL) is of utmost importance for the purpose of doing wholesale trade.

Providing your pharmacy unit with a viable solution to funding, reducing drug costs and promoting market efficiency by equalizing prices across Europe; wholesaling can be effectively used to negate supply chain restrictions and 4Pharma is here to help!

Responding to Mr. Patel’s belief that a lack of briefing with respect to the possibility of change in the pharmacy sector in the coming 5years may result in pharmacists giving uninformed suggestions, 4Pharma does not agree. What is the point in being briefed on something that cannot be backed with quantifiable proof of work being done to meet desired ends. The current state of the supply chain and those who concern themselves with it are proof enough of a system that does not work. The system apparently does not work as the ones who run the system do not investigate into complaints brought to their notice.

4Pharma implores every pharmacist to pay heed to the ‘Call to Action’ consultation not because they have to but because the possibility of it changing the profession for the better is something that they can’t afford to forego.

http://www.chemistanddruggist.co.uk/news-content/-/article_display_list/17036314/pharmacists-unprepared-for-call-to-action-lpcs-warn

Not a pretty picture – 4Pharma’s response

“Pharmacies across the UK wasting a total of 2.5 million hours a year chasing out-of-stock drugs is not what I would call a smooth operation” – Gemma Collins (C+D News Editor) , when asked about UK pharmacy supplies.

The lack of UK pharmacy supplies has hampered the smooth functioning of the UK’s pharmacy profession for over five years now. The inability of the Government and regulatory bodies to curb these growing supply chain impediments hasn’t done pharmacists or their customers any good.

Pharmacy minister Earl Howe’s response with respect to UK pharmacy supplies shortages in August last year, of these being ‘managed away’, directly affected pharmacists. Trying to somehow ‘manage away the problem’, pharmacists strived for hours on end to procure hard to get medicines for the upkeep of their public service obligation (PSO). The PSO casts an obligation on Drug Companies to manufacture enough drugs to meet the public’s need. Once this obligation is fulfilled by the manufacturer the responsibility shifts to the wholesalers and finally to every pharmacy who is obligated to satisfy the needs of their patients. Thus PSO is not only an obligation cast on the pharmacist but also manufacturers and wholesalers alike.

Trying to manage these shortages away, in some cases pharmacists have gone to great lengths to ensure patients meet their prescription drug requirements. While in others, a pharmacist’s inability to procure out-of-stock medication has led to many disgruntled and distressed patients being hospitalised as a direct result of a shortage UK pharmacy supplies, and pharmacies are losing out on patients.

The current state of the UK’s pharmaceutical supply chain doesn’t paint a pretty picture. Fortunately, fixing this seemingly unalterable supply chain may not be as complex as it seems.

4Pharma sums up the solution in just one word – Wholesaling!

4Pharma recognises that drug line restrictions, and the provision of UK pharmacy supplies, have been altered to suit the monopolistic needs of pharmaceutical manufacturers and it is to this end that it promotes the use of wholesaling to overcome supply chain restrictions.

Fear and a lack of knowledge with respect to the functioning of the supply chain and the legalities that surround it have often led to many independent pharmacists being reluctant to wholesale in the UK.

According to the MHRA, any entity holding a Wholesale Dealers Licence (WDL) is entitled to wholesale legally and ethically – Medicines Act 1968 & Human medicine regulation 2012

Providing your pharmacy unit with a viable solution to funding, reducing drug costs and promoting market efficiency by equalizing prices across Europe; wholesaling can be effectively used to negate the lack of UK pharmacy supplies and 4Pharma is a case in point!

http://www.chemistanddruggist.co.uk/blogs-content/-/article_display_list/16737830/not-a-pretty-picture

C+D EVIDENCE OF PHARMACEUTICAL DRUG SHORTAGES HAS BEEN COMING IN THICK AND FAST

http://www.chemistanddruggist.co.uk/news-content/-/article_display_list/16216856/c-d-stock-shortages-evidence-mounts

C+D has received 68 reports so far from pharmacists located in various regions of England and Scotland about pharmaceutical drug shortages that were likely to have resulted in serious harm to patients including instances of blindness.

These reports of pharmaceutical drug shortages causing patients harm have been flowing into C+D in direct consequence of C+D’s response (C+D’s stock shortages app) to the pharmacy minster Earl Howe’s call on the 8th of August, for all pharmacists to prove pharmaceutical drug shortages were harming patients.

Ace Pharmacy from Surrey, KV Hartshorne Pharmacy from Walsall and Polwarth Pharmacy from Edinburgh for instance, had reported three, four and one instance of pharmaceutical drug shortages respectively which had almost resulted in severe patient harm.

4Pharma is a pharmaceutical wholesale specialist and many customers trading with 4Pharma face pharmaceutical drug shortages.  4Pharma’s collaboration with Noviscom (regulatory agency) and the British Independent Pharmacy and Wholesale Association renders us capable to provide expert industry advice and guidance to anyone who aspires to wholesale efficiently and effectively.

Whether you are setting up a new wholesale department within your existing pharmacy or buying a new pharmacy, 4Pharma will assist you from ‘setup’ to ‘regulatory compliance’ until your business is thriving.

Our expert assistance and guidance has the potential to rid every Independent Pharmacy aspiring to wholesale and wholesale unit in the UK of pharmaceutical drug shortages.

Fear and a lack of knowledge with respect to the functioning of the supply chain and the legalities that surround it have led to many independent pharmacies being reluctant to wholesale in the UK.

4Pharma aim to have a concrete product distribution system set-up in line with the standards set on Good Distribution Practice [GDP], to ensure uninterrupted supply of medication by independent pharmacies to their patients.

4Pharma – wholesale with confidence.

For more information please contact us 0800 015 0869, email us sales@4pharma.co.uk or visit our website www.4pharma.co.uk