Ramy Burjony's Blog

Are you a health professional or a shop trader?

This question arises in response to queries whether it is okay to discount certain pharmacy medicines, placing them (analgesics, cough/cold etc) in dump bins for promotional purposes.

Yes the code of ethics says "medicines are not ordinary articles of commerce" and yes the code of ethics says "in developing advertising and promotions the pharmacist must ensure the emphasis or focus of the advertisement or promotion is benefits of the service, medicine, therapy or product other than its price."

I completely agree with this, however just because a pharmacy is promoting a certain product it does not mean these ethical obligations are being breached. You can firmly believe this is an excellent product that people need to be introduced to, and a discounted price can simply mean the purchase price was so low it can be passed on to the patient. In no way shape or form is there signage that promotes bulk or multiple pack purchases. 

There is a wide range of analgesics, cough/cold, allergy and other medicines being sold in supermarkets and service stations, with no control of sales. And these items are always cheaply priced or heavily discounted with no intervention. At least in a pharmacy setting there is control by pharmacists or pharmacy staff members who can be trained to control sales and refer patients to pharmacists. 

With the dispensary losing income and credibility though cut downs on dispensing fees, and generics eating away at the dispensary profitability, pharmacy owners cannot just sit back and take it on the chin. Something needs to be done, and turning to retail to support the dispensary is a vital component of surviving and turning over some profit. 

Not only is the dispensary taking a hit, but so is the retail aspect of pharmacy. Allowing more and more medicines to make the general sales list there is less need for patients to walk into a pharmacy to purchase their general analgesic or cough and cold remedy. 

What really gets to me is there are so many ethical obligations being breached, and so many legal implications being avoided by a number of bad pharmacists out there. However when small things like this are presented to us, experts start quoting the Code of Ethics and Medicines Act and legislations.

This to me always sounds very hypocritical, because nothing is being done about the major problems. There are pharmacies out there discounting their prices, giving away free prescriptions, directing patients to their pharmacies, direction prescriptions straight to their pharmacies from doctor’s surgeries, using organisations to promote their pharmacies through illegal means, yet they still get away with it. How this continues to happen is beyond me.

Ramy Burjony 

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