WITH Australian pharmacists looking to combat the impacts of Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) price disclosure by new services in the hope of replacing lost revenue, one of the UK's largest pharmacy groups is implementing a new 5 for delivering prescriptions to patients.
The relatively modest fee for the convenience service has raised the ire of at least one patient, Jamie Marks, from Horsham in Sussex, who described it as "absolutely outrageous" and "a joke" that he will have to pay 5 for each delivery from 30 Sep.
Speaking to the Crawley Observer, Marks said that while he would not be severely impacted by the fee, he was concerned about how other patients would cope with the increased cost.
"I accept they're a private company," he said.
"[But] this has just come out of the blue. I have never known charges.
"I have raised this for other people. I'm very concerned about people with young children who are seriously ill.
"They could end up with a huge amount of money coming out [of their accounts].
"If it was per household it would not be so bad."
Boots UK Pharmacy Director, Richard Bradly, told the paper that the new fee would be waived "to cover our most vulnerable patient", suggesting there may be little need for Marks to panic.
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