FREE DRUGS

Evening Post, Volume CXXXIII, Issue 7, 9 January 1942, Page 6

FREE DRUGS

REVISED TARIFF

PROPRIETARY LINES

Important alterations in the drug traffic, to come into force on February 1, were announced today by the Minister of Health (Mr. Nordmeyer). The new tariff sets out in some detail the substances .or classes of substances that are accepted as a charge on the Social Security Fund and those that are excluded. . ' Some of the substances now included, such as liver products administered by injection, desiccated stomach tissue, and the sulphonamide drugs and their derivatives, may be obtain* able only under brand names, but they may nevertheless be supplied wholly or in part at the cost of the fund, provided they comply with a standard not lower than that described in the official memorandum if there is one applicable. The patient must pay any. cost in excess of the price allowed from the fund for the more expensive brands. • SOME EXCLUDED. In addition to.the new drugs specifically mentioned, numbers of othersare included by virtue of the extension to the official pharmaceutical publication through alterations which have recently been officially recognised. The tariff also contains details of substances which are not to: be made a charge on j the fund, the most important of which are the exclusion of food, pharmaceutical requirements not immediately j necessary, toilet preparations, and any j wine or spirituous liquor of a kind! that is commonly sold by persons licensed to sell intoxicating liquors, unless such wine or spirituous liquor is prescribed to be dispensed in. combination with other pharmaceutical requirements and comprises not more than 12| per cent, by volume of the resulting mixture. ' . Where a proprietary substance is ordered for and paid for by the patient, no charge can, under the revised tariff, be made on the fund for container or dispensing fees. Where, however, the cost of the proprietary substance is partly borne by the fund, the j dispensing and container fees- are also a charge on the fund. SUPPLY PEEIODS. The amount of pharmaceutical requirements that may be ordered at the cost of the fund on any one prescription have been amended to provide that in general only a five days' supply may be ordered, and, if directed, this may be repeated once, not later than 30 days after the date of presentation of the prescription. Contractors should hold these scripts until the second bottle has been supplied to the patient and signed for, or until the 30 days has elapsed. This will obviate the use of repeat dockets. Repeat dockets that have expired should be returned to the Medical Officer of j Health. .Mr. Nordmeyer emphasised' that it is a breach of the regulations to obtain more than one signature when the first bottle of medicine is supplied. Each bottle should be signed for when received by the customer, who should himself add the date to his signature. To provide for the requirements of patients suffering from chronic conditions, a medical . practitioner may order at the cost of the fund a supply sufficient for mot more than 30 days' treatment. This may be supplied in :the manner most convenient, namely, in one quantity sufficient for 30 days' treatment (for example, the case of tablets: or-pills), or in -the case of an -unstabi? mixture,. by the. necessary number of "repeats." In the latter case the script would be held until the "repeats" had been supplied and, signed for. FIVE DAYS' SUPPLY. In the case of the sulphonamide group of drugs, a five days' supply only may:be given on one.prescription. -j In the case of pharmaceutical requirements which are not taken in specified doses at regular intervals, Mr. Nordmeyer <feaid that'the medical practitioner should indicate the quantity to be supplied, bearing in mind the aporoximate- period for which supplies may be ordered at the cost of the fund. Provision still exists ,for the authorisation by the Medical Officer of Health of extended supplies in certain cases. These authorisations will, however, not be applicable to prescriptions containing dangerous drugs, as this would conflict with the provisions of the Dangerous Drugs Regulations. In connection with midwifery orders, aspirin and castor oil have beerrdeleted. If a midwifery order including aspirin or castor oil is presented on or after February 1, the contractor should delete these two items and inform the customer they are no longer a charge on the fund unless ordered by a doctor's prescription. The Minister said it- was important that doctors, pharmacists, and the public generally should appreciate the need for conserving, as far as possible, drug supplies.