Contract agreed

DHBNZ, Pharmac, the Pharmacy Guild and other agents representing pharmacists
met last month to thrash out the Procedures Manual for the new pharmacy contract
which comes into effect on 1 March.

The date of dispensing issue, which would have seen pharmacies required to re-
process prescriptions collected after the day of dispensing, has been resolved.
Pharmacy Guild chief executive Annabel Young said the DHBs had agreed they
would not try and enforce the date of dispensing definition.

Although there is no increased dispensing fee, DHBs agreed the following which will
improve net return to pharmacy:

• $3 million for brand switches
• $600,000 for wholesale uplift fee
• $500,000 to solve special foods problem
• $500 set-up fee (for those not already paid to go online) and $100 per month for
• pharmacies on broadband
• Provision to claim the dispensing fee and cost of medicine (where the medicine
• cannot be reused) on uncollected prescriptions
• DHBs and Pharmac will not intervene in the volume growth on the current spend on
• pharmaceuticals that go through community pharmacy.

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