“Cowboy” tactics questioned
Unrest is brewing in Auckland over allegations some “greenfield” pharmacies are resorting to coercion to lure customers from their established counterparts.
The practice is being reported in south, north and west Auckland, where established pharmacists are questioning the tactics employed by new businesses and the professional ethics of those behind them.
There has been no let-up in the cases, even after formal complaints to the Pharmacy Council, Ministry of Health, local DHBs, the Commerce Commission and the health and disability commissioner.
Otara, in south Auckland, is being quoted as the most recent example of the so called cowboy tactics that are becoming rampant in the greater Auckland region, where at least 18 new pharmacies have opened up since 2009 alone.
Local pharmacists allege the newly opened Amarsee Pharmacy has staff waiting at the door, physically coaxing patients to get their scripts filled there.
“To me, that is a breach of patient rights,” veteran pharmacist Ian Johnson says.
A written complaint before the licensing authority questions pharmacist Dhanshuk Amarsee’s involvement in the new business, even though he has been declared bankrupt.
The liquidators sold Mr Amarsee’s four pharmacies – Bairds Road, Otara, Dannemora and Manukau pharmacies – to a group of local pharmacists last year to recover monies owed to creditors.
According to the complaint, Mr Amarsee is alleged to have used legal loopholes to open Amarsee Pharmacy under the name of a pharmacist residing in Australia. The pharmacy is in close proximity to Johnson’s Pharmacy and Mr Amarsee’s former businesses, Bairds Road and Otara pharmacies, which are affected directly.
Mr Johnson says he is not speaking in his capacity as an affected party, but the case is threatening the very sanctity of the profession.
“Pharmacy needs to ensure that, in all respects, what we do is to the highest professional standards. That is our professional commitment. As individuals within the profession, we need to be vigilant about protecting our professional status, as do lawyers, doctors and accountants.”
Mr Amarsee did not wish to comment to Pharmacy Today.
Volatile environment
Pharmacist Kerry Oxenham, of Leabank Pharmacy in Manurewa, is one of the shareholders who purchased Dhanshuk Amarsee’s liquidated businesses. Mr Oxenham says in this highly volatile pharmacy environment, the continuum of care offered by pharmacies is widening.
“At one end of the spectrum are the proactive innovators, embracing change and working in the direction of the minister of health’s Better Sooner More Convenient Primary healthcare, with the development of new services and other initiatives. At the other end are people seeking to erode the script volume and threaten the viability of the proactive pharmacies in close proximity.”
North Shore woes
Northcote pharmacist Anthony Yee’s case is slightly different, but raises similar concerns.
Mr Yee says a pharmacy opened as part of the local Te Puna PHO in Northcote in July 2008 resulted in 20% loss to his customer base. The PHO-run medical centres were sending scripts directly to Te Puna Pharmacy, sometimes against the patient’s wishes.
Mr Yee produced letters from his customers to support his claim. The matter reached the local DHB and other authorities, following which the PHO admitted an oversight and stopped sending the scripts directly to the in-house pharmacy.
Mr Yee recently resigned as a Medicines Use Review pharmacist for Waitemata DHB saying he could no longer match Te Puna’s continued deep discounting of pharmacy services.
El-Fadil Kardaman, the pharmacist behind Te Puna Pharmacy, dismissed Mr Yee’s allegations in a letter to the Pharmacy Council, saying Mr Yee was simply frustrated over the fact he had paid a premium price for a declining business that is now losing custom to Te Puna Pharmacy, and faces competition from yet another pharmacy across from his.
Mr Kardaman is also behind Prescription Plus and Dispensary Plus pharmacies opened as part of Wai Health and West Fono medical centres in west Auckland.
Henderson Discount Pharmacy was in the news earlier this year for offering free dispensing to counter the business threat from their arrival.
Similar pharmacies are coming up in several parts of Auckland, and there are reports in Hamilton, spreading the conflict far and wide.
In Mairangi Bay on the North Shore, pharmacist owner of Unichem Mairangi Bay, Pierre Cotter, bought out his competition across the road and amalgamated the two pharmacies a few years back.
Recently, he was compelled to open another small pharmacy close to the local medical centre after he got wind that someone else was planning to take his customers by opening another pharmacy there.
The licensing authority says the law governing pharmacy licences is quite clear – if the pharmacist and the location meet the criteria, then it cannot refuse a licence. For a restriction in the number of licences to be imposed, there would need to be a law change, which is unlikely to happen anytime soon.
The DHBs can refuse to sign contracts with pharmacies that fail to comply, not only with legal but also professional/ethical requirements.
Whatever the authorities choose to do, one thing is for sure – they can no longer afford to be mute spectators. At stake is not just community pharmacy’s viability, but scores of pharmacists’ future.
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