VIAGRA NEWS

Source: Irish Medical Times

Date: 4-Apr-2007

Author: Sandra Ryan

A group of 20 GPs spent last week lobbying members of Government and other TDs hoping to change an amendment to the new Pharmacy Bill that could potentially shut down 30 primary care centres that contain pharmacies.

The amendment to the Bill, which has been rushed through the Dail, inserts two new sections that state it is professional misconduct for a doctor to have "beneficial interest" in a pharmacy business.

Dr David Moloney, a GP in Mallow, told IMT that if the Bill goes ahead, as it currently stands, up to 30 primary care centres developed by GPs could collapse.

"Our main concern is that the amendment, which was brought in very late, is poorly worded and could lead to confusing interpretations. It was put in by the Minister for Health as a robust control of the relationship between doctors and pharmacies. We have no problem with robust control, but we have a problem with the wording of the Bill, which could damage any potential developments under way," said Dr Moloney.

The GPs received legal advice on the amendment and learned they could potentially stop the doctors from opening primary care centres, which Dr Moloney described as much needed projects.

"We are developing the next level of primary care and developing what the primary care strategy is aimed at - providing enhanced services to patients," he said.

"The doctors involved have taken years of consultation and negotiation, resourcing and investment, and a great deal of hard work to get their individual and joint projects up and running."

Dr Moloney also pointed out that co-location was approved by the Medical Council last year and that all doctors involved are aware of the ethical responsibilities of such businesses.

He said they hope their concerns will be heeded by Government before the Bill reaches its final stage.

"If this goes ahead in the current format we estimate 30 primary care centres, being developed by GPs, will fall." The amendment also states that a retail pharmacy business and a medical practice cannot share premises, share the same public entrance or, if in separate buildings, cannot be developed so public access to one is only available through the other.

Speaking on the amendment, the Minister for Health said she is not prohibiting co-location. "For as long as I can remember, doctors and pharmacists have been in close proximity to each other. What we are seeking to ensure is that a doctor cannot have an interest in the pharmacy business and vice versa," she said.

Meanwhile, Touchstone said it believes the Pharmacy Bill deals comprehensively with potential conflicts of interest between co-located prescribers and dispensers in primary care centres.

"The Touchstone model was always designed to separate the interests of prescribers and dispensers, and therefore, the company still intends to achieve delivery of the 60 centres proposed at the outset of the project," a spokesman told IMT.