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No Mark Up on Medicine in Private Prescriptions

04/08/2010

Superdrug to save Brits millions with end to marking up on private prescriptions

Today, Tuesday 3 August 2010, Superdrug announces a commitment to dispense all privately prescribed prescriptions with no mark up on the cost of the medicine.

The cost of private prescriptions can vary widely between pharmacies and Superdrug is calling on all pharmacies to follow its lead. It is estimated around five million private prescriptions are issued each year.

Martin Crisp, Superdrug Superintendent Pharmacist comments: “In the past privately prescribed medicines have been priced as though any other product. However, we believe that medicines prescribed by a Doctor, whether private or on the NHS, should be treated in the same way.

“We are changing our system to be more transparent. There are hundreds of thousands of private prescriptions issued every year and if everyone joined us and changed the way private prescriptions are priced this could save Britons tens of millions every year.”

The new structure of dispensing private prescriptions will be available in store immediately.

This move will affect the prices of all products dispensed under a private prescription not just those high cost items which are dispensed very infrequently (IVF and cancer drugs), items regularly dispensed include Viagra, Malarone (anti-malarials), Propecia (hair loss) and antibiotics.

A typical saving on a prescription of four Viagra 100mg tablets will be £4.70 (from £28.20 to £23.50), the cost of 84 Propecia tablets (treatment for hair loss) will fall £17.88 to £88.40 (from £106.08), the popular contraceptive Yasmin will see its price cut by a third (from £47.75 to £31.63).

Crisp continues: “We believe that a prescription shows a real need regardless of how or where it was prescribed. Whether the prescription is for a medicine to improve health or quality of life we’re delighted to make a stand and hope that we can make a real change to the way prescriptions are dispensed in the UK.”

These are the savings on the most frequently dispensed medicines on private prescription.

Product Condition WAS NOW SAVING
Malarone 250/100mg Tablets (24) anti-malarial £60.00 £50.40 £9.60 (16%)
Doxycycline 100mg Capsules (50) antibiotic £5.22 £3.48 £1.74 (33%)
Propecia 1mg Tablets (84) hair loss £106.08 £88.40 £17.88 (16.7%)
Viagra 100mg Tablets (4) erectile dysfunction £28.20 £23.50 £4.70 (16.7%)
Amoxicillin 500mg Capsules (21) antibiotic £4.50 £2.25 £2.25 (50%)
Cialis 20mg Tablets (4) erectile dysfunction £32.39 £26.99 £5.40 (16.7%)
Metformin 500mg Tablets (28) diabetes £4.50 £2.25 £2.25 (50%)
Bendroflumethiazide 2.5mg tabs (28) diuretic £4.50 £2.25 £2.25 (50%)
Diclofenac Sod 50mg e/c tabs (84) anti-inflammatory £4.50 £2.25 £2.25 (50%)
Yasmin Tablets (63) oral contraceptive £22.05 £14.70 £7.35 (33%)
Xenicol 120mg capsules (84) weight loss £47.45 £31.63 £15.82 (33%)


Superdrug is halving its minimum charge for dispensing medicines to £2.25 (from £4.50), this compares to other high street pharmacies which have a minimum charge of £4.95*.

To view a list of our stores, visit our store finder.

*Boots The Chemist minimum charge £4.95 on 21st July 2010

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