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South African Dispensing doctors have fees capped
Different country same problem
Dr Allan Tennant reports
16th of July 2010
Dispensing doctors pan state fees as ‘thumbsuck' is the headline in Business Day a South African website.
They report, "Dispensing doctors have reacted with dismay to the government's latest recommended fees, saying officials have once again published "thumbsuck" figures that fail to take into account the costs of providing medicines to their patients."
The South African government has set fees at 30% of the cost of the drug which is capped at R22.5 (exchange rate R11.2=£1)
South African dispensing doctors have been in conflict with their government for 6 years over the levels of fees doctors can charge for dispensing.
Just like in England and Wales there are problems with how the government calculates fees and understanding the cost of dispensing.
Dr Norman Mabasa, chairman of the National Convention on Dispensing (NCD), which represents dispensing doctors is quoted as saying, "We need to be able to treat our patients without worrying about making a loss."