PHARMACISTS are up in arms at not being paid by the Government for a range of drugs they have dispensed free of cost to customers over the last three months, but Minister of Health Donville Inniss has stated that the cheques should be issued today.
The pharmacists are also blaming the delay on the new electronic system – introduced in December – for submitting prescriptions to the Barbados Drug Service (BDS).
Stating that they were “under extreme pressure” to submit prescriptions electronically, several pharmacists on Monday lamented the new incurred costs, since some of them now needed new computers, and software compatible with that of the BDS.
This approach, pharmacists added, had been causing a range of errors, such as discrepancies between item numbers, prices, and patients’ identification numbers and names – all of which resulted in deductions by the BDS.
“For February, deductions have been as much as 80 per cent of the monies due. No payments have been made for those prescriptions done in March. April forms have been submitted and the pharmacies are now dispensing for May.”
Pharmacists, they added, have been visiting the BDS daily “begging for payment”.
Inniss said yesterday that the matter of non-payment was raised with the Ministry of Finance and he had been advised that cheques should be issued today [Wednesday]. He also noted that once errors in the payments could be verified, the BDS would pay the difference.
Adding that the electronic system should generate faster turnover of payment, Inniss said the system had been discussed with stakeholders for over two years.
“When forms are submitted manually, the BDS has to go through them one by one, so the BDS was basically paying on goodwill,” he said.
He added that the Pharmaceutical Society could speak to him or the BDS regarding any changes, but noted “often the minister meets with the society’s representative, we discuss and agree on things, and then individual pharmacists want to do their own thing”.
