Pharmacies

[Cheib]

My impression are these seem to be phenominal businesses. Obviously have very good foot fall and I suppose a lot of the product is high margin and it's obviously one of the areas of retail where .com does not have a strong threat.

I've got a question relating to how prescriptions work.

I went to see my GP this morning to get an asthma presciption. The GSK product Seretide is £60 for a month's use. The GP went to great care to prescribe the generic as it's much cheaper (even telling me he'd just been to a lecture on this very subject/product). I go to Boots and they look up the prescription and just give me the GSK product Seretide which is obviously fine by me. My question is...how does that work ? Do pharmacies have carte blanche to give you more expensive medication as long as it's the same prescription ? Or can they only do that if the generic drugs aren't in stock. Obviously seems they have little incentive to keep any stock of the generic.

[Cheib]

mmm-five said:

Did your doctor prescribe a generic brand, or simply prescribe the generic active for the drug?

If he did the latter, then the pharmacist will supply whatever they have, based on the guidelines laid down by NICE. It may be that in this instance the branded Seretide (non Evohaler/Accuhaler/etc.) is the cheapest option (about £120/year for the 200mg dose/device).

He prescribed the generic active for the drug. The Seretide inhaler I was given (by Boots) is £60 a time....250mg twice a day so it lasts for a months. £700 a year! It's not the cheapest as the GP checked to see how much the Seretide was before prescribing. I know it's £60 as I was first prescribed this by a private consultant and bought it at a pharmacy myself.

It makes sense that they give you what they have but why is a Pharmacy going to bother stocking the generic ? I assume there is more money in it for them to stock the branded Seretide in this case?