DISPENSING SERVICE

Dominion, Volume 34, Issue 139, 8 March 1941, Page 12

DISPENSING SERVICE

Pharmaceutical Benefits EXPECTED NEXT MONTH

Though no additional statement has been made since the Minister of Health, Mr. Nordmeyer, announced that the pharmaceutical benefits under the -Social Security Act were expected to be made available from April 1, it is anticipated that the service will be provided from that date. Following the Minister’s announcement, it was stated by a representative of the chemists that they had received no advice of the Government’s intentions. The reason given for the belief that April 1 will see the pharmaceutical benefits in operation is that the scheme will be less cumbersome to introduce than the general practitioner service, and that the chemists gave an assurance of co-operation to the special Parliamentary committee which heard evidence on the social security proposals. Since then, chemists have been brought within the scope of the Industrial Efficiency Act and they have a fixed scale of dispensing charges. The opinion is that when the pharmaceutical benefits are introduced the chemists will be paid for their services from the Social Security Fund sums in line with their present charges, except that some discount will probably be asked by the Government.