Significant Times Ahead for Pharmacy
04 February 2008
It is now just over a month since I became managing director of AAH Pharmaceuticals. Whilst the role may be new, the pharmacy sector is very familiar as I have spent the last 16 years with AAH in various roles.
During that time, I have seen considerable changes throughout the supply chain not least in the last few years. Looking forward, I see 2008 as having the potential to be one of the most significant in decades.
So what is on my wish list for Scottish pharmacy this year?
First of all, and arguably the most important task, is to ensure that AMS is deployed successfully followed next year by CMS. MAS is due to be evaluated formally later this year, but the general consensus is that it has been a great success for pharmacy, the health service and, of course, patients.
With MAS, AMS and CMS in place and delivering results, Scotland will have pharmacy at the very heart of its primary healthcare provision. It will provide the proof that fund holders and politicians need to justify commissioning patient services from pharmacy rather than elsewhere.
That is important as it will provide new income streams for pharmacy at a time when governments are likely to squeeze drug budgets which, in turn, reduces income from dispensing.
For our part, AAH will continue to do our utmost to support our customers in Scotland with, for example, our range of professional services.
I hope we will see a more stable, transparent and equitable financial settlement for contractors. In the last few months, we have seen how Cat M adjustments have had a hard impact on community pharmacy. A new cost survey is planned in Scotland and CPS has argued that this will demonstrate that alleged excess retained purchase profit has been more than covered by increased costs.
However, something is clearly not right when pharmacists report being unable to pay themselves in January and the Conservative Health Spokesperson in the House of Commons erroneously states pharmacy is taking more than £800m in profit out of the NHS. Of course he is wrong, but the fact that he said it in the first place should be a cause for concern.
I also hope that if the PPRS is renegotiated, as looks likely, the efficiency and effectiveness of the whole supply chain from supplier through to contractor is recognised and valued fully. The concern all of us should have is that renegotiation of the PPRS becomes an excuse for short-term budget cuts.
I would like to see better inter-professional working and joined up thinking. It often appears to the outside world that healthcare professionals spend more time fighting each other than they do figuring out how to work together better.
Healthcare commissioners are far more likely to listen favourably to business cases which demonstrate an integrated primary healthcare approach than those which simply compete one against the other for funding.
At AAH we spend a considerable amount of time with customers helping them develop the skills they need to develop persuasive business cases to put to commissioning bodies. This is a theme we will cover at the AAH Convention in Cape Town in April.
Finally, in 2008, I hope that we will see a framework for regulation and representation around which the profession can unite. The debate about the future of RPSGB is one which needs to take place with powerful and strongly felt views being expressed about the various possible options for reform.
Whatever the eventual outcome pharmacy needs to move quickly from a period of introspection to promoting itself effectively in the debates around how primary healthcare is structured.
Take the debate around the concept of the responsible pharmacists. This could have significant consequences for pharmacists and the way they work. Yet it has been published for consultation on the basis that reform of supervision will be decided at a later stage. Clearly the two are inseparable. A strong voice for pharmacy is vital to ensure that proposals from government, be that in Edinburgh or London, support the development of the profession rather than create confusion which, in my view, is what we see with the consultation exercise on the responsible pharmacist concept.
All of this matters to AAH because it matters to our customers. As you know, what we offer and provide is far more than just a delivery service. Contractors rely on us for financial support to buy or refurbish pharmacies, for support and advice with providing professional services and for customer technology as well.
It promises to be a busy and challenging year, but AAH will be there to support you throughout.
Mark James
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