Tony Abbott's Pharmaceutical Reforms (1 Viewer)

[karpov]

I think these reforms are good, medicine is so expensive these days. These reforms will force pharmacies to cut their margins, hence cheaper medicine. However, they could have gone further and let Woolies and Coles join the market to create more competition and so even cheaper medicine. What do people think??

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,17012885%5E601,00.html

 

[loquasagacious]

Personally I would have liked to see the anti-competitive aspects of the industry pared back more....

 

[+Po1ntDeXt3r+]

personally I don't
it is significantly more important that it is regulated so heavily.. reality of it.. if coles and woolies get a piece of the pie.. service will drop..

I realise ppl think it is greed but it actually can harbour a more fair environment to have 1.5 km restriction.. so not to have unruly practices

... to be honest I think 24/7 pharmacies are crazy and stupid.. doctors and nurses are only just paring back their hours now to minimise sleep deprivation mistakes.. the pharmacist are the other gatekeepers of health.. do we need more sleep deprived ppl? no..

supermarket pharmacies are also not great in terms of quality in UK and US.. more savings?.. but ure pharmacist cant be fcked trying really..
I know someone in the UK that does this.. Absolutely hates it...

economically there is argument to open up the market.. but medically/service wise.. i think its one more problem in the health system.. the changes now.. are adequate.. not more nor less..

 

[loquasagacious]

A 1.5km exclusion zone is clear lunacy in a built up area and is simply designed to minimise competition. How is it more fair that a consumer either has to pay whatever a pharmacist wants or walk 1.5km to the next one.

I don't know about you but I've never been particularly impressed by the service I recieve in a pharmacist and indeed the supermarket I work in is better in terms of service than any pharmacist I've been in.

 

[Not-That-Bright]

Yea personally I'm not too impressed by the service I get with pharmacists, but I imagine as you get on and have to take more medication, having someone at your local pharmacy that can remember what you need etc is very helpful.

 

[loquasagacious]

Who's to suggest that in a more competitive world pharmacists wouldn't remember you? In a supermarket you get to know the regulars....

This is especially true as we're not suggesting that you have a pharmacist section as part of the main store but rather seperately much like liquor.

 

[bscienceboi]

Good thin I decided not to be a pharmacists

Worst graudate wage, long years and a long time ebfore you make real money (owning your own store).

The 1.5km rule is to prevent competition, but if you visit Pharmacies in Cabramatta, Ryde and Parramatta, you'll see that there are way too many located within each area. In the case of Cabramatta, there were two stores directly next to each other.

If Coles or Woolies did open their own set of stores then many pharmacists would lose their customers in my opinion. Woolies and Coles can offer the same level of service and because they would buy drugs on a larger scale they can offer to sell them at lower prices.

 

[callisto]

more like mr_brightside's Pharmaceutical Reforms!

 

[mr_brightside]

more like mr_brightside's Pharmaceutical Reforms!

lol

 

[+Po1ntDeXt3r+]

Good thin I decided not to be a pharmacists

Worst graudate wage, long years and a long time ebfore you make real money (owning your own store).

Nope thats just the one year limited registration u get paid more after than yr
its lik medicine.. 44K yr intern.. then its about 65k the yr after..

The 1.5km rule is to prevent competition, but if you visit Pharmacies in Cabramatta, Ryde and Parramatta, you'll see that there are way too many located within each area. In the case of Cabramatta, there were two stores directly next to each other.

If Coles or Woolies did open their own set of stores then many pharmacists would lose their customers in my opinion. Woolies and Coles can offer the same level of service and because they would buy drugs on a larger scale they can offer to sell them at lower prices.

I don't think that they can offer prescription drugs any lower?!.. the government offers the bargaining usually.. and unless ure not eligible for a subsidy.. then i cant see the reasoning for this?....

ummm although the difference in a small pharmacy vs bulk is best seen with the Ozepharmacies... if say you are buying panadol... and mabbe shampoo or hair colouring..

the greatest tragedy IMO is allowing ibuprofen(e.g Nurofen, Advil, etc ) to be sold in supermarkets.. without a large warning.. on the box..

 

[loquasagacious]

If Coles or Woolies did open their own set of stores then many pharmacists would lose their customers in my opinion. Woolies and Coles can offer the same level of service and because they would buy drugs on a larger scale they can offer to sell them at lower prices.

You've hit the nail on the head. Coles and Woolies can achieve economics of scale far better than a corner pharmacy.

I don't think that they can offer prescription drugs any lower?!.

Of course they can, all they need to do is reduce costs. This is done through wholesale buying power of the big chains and other economics of scale related savings. eg lower shipping, labour, etc costs per unit.

Finally competition people. No body is going to get there medication from Coles or Woolies if the service at the pharmacy is way better or the pharmacy is way cheaper. Pharmacies have to step up to the plate and trim down.

Pharmacies should not sell shampoos and all of that other crap they stock - there's no reason for them to do so. It increases rent (larger area needed), electricity likewise (larger area to light up) but doesn't increase profits. Turnover on non-medicinal stock is low - because they can't compete with the chains. If pharmacies want to survive they need to compete where they have a chance of winning - medication.

If they can't beat the chains there - then they shouldn't be in business.

 

[+Po1ntDeXt3r+]

Of course they can, all they need to do is reduce costs. This is done through wholesale buying power of the big chains and other economics of scale related savings. eg lower shipping, labour, etc costs per unit.

this will then make pharmacist with a Science Degree and Clinical skills at the mercy of supermarkets...

labour salaries will not be reduceable cos they have degrees its lik they studied hard.. now they'd expect it to be more than the guy at checkout 6.. honestly..

supermarkets are big faceless corporations.. and the truth is..
Ppl want cheap but the cost is.. we will lose community service aspects.. a pharmacist will make blister packs at no cost in some cases.... I kno a couple tat do blood sugars, pressures and lipids in store for free.. so u can then goto a doctor if there is a problem..

the margin on prescription drugs is low.. very low... but its Govt subsidies... for about a couple of a weeks a pharmacist will run a lost on the product then hav to reclaim it from Govt..

there are alot of pharmacist only drugs that need a couple of mins of explaining.. most ppl dun realise that u cant take nurofen lik panadol.. and even vitamins.. shouldnt be mixed with ure main medications.. loss of good labour will cause a loss of service..

Supermarkets have not been a god send in anyways for the UK nor the US .. nor in Australia.. in fact we run at a lower profit for drug companies than US or UK.. from the PBS... cos we purchase as a nation.. not as an individual.. lik in US.. (US consumers try to cheat and goto Canada to get cheaper meds)

truth.. this is good for young ppl (18-35) who see a pharmacist once every 3 mths... and complain about the cost.. $15 for a 16 pack of antibiotics (amoxil).

but when ure 45+ you will be on polypharmacy (aka 3+ pills) 1 will be three times daily.. the other 2 times daily and another every 2nd day.. now the cost is exactly the same?! (cos u have a health care concession card -$4.60/perscription)

it will cost extra to get blister packs..
also there wasnt much instruction about how the "red and white" ones affect the "blue tabs"... and that if u OD on the "blue" ones ull get chronic renal failure..
btw the "white capsule" cant be taken with herbal preps lik St Johns Wort.

its the difference between Kmart and David Jones same product but one is more premium service... and for ure medication u better hope its not a time rushed 22 yr old..

Shampoos and soaps are there as an additional service for convenience like how a petrol station sells food?! omg... they arent maccas?!..

 

[Liberal Scum]

labour salaries will not be reduceable cos they have degrees its lik they studied hard.. now they'd expect it to be more than the guy at checkout 6.. honestly..

But if their skills are redudant then they're going to have to work for less, or find themselves unemployed.

 

[+Po1ntDeXt3r+]

But if their skills are redudant then they're going to have to work for less, or find themselves unemployed.

no.. they will retrain.. my cousin did when UK did that..

not all pharmacist will end up in sales either..

theres medical research.. and they are usually the most sort after to be sales rep/researchers for drug companies and enter Grad med/dental programs or post grad work.

altho lookin at what happened.. it aint likely to get lik that in aust.

 

[heybraham]

imagine buying your medicine from woolworths metro. no.