Pharmacists have agreed to take charge of a scheme through which patients aged 70 and over will get free medicine they are entitled to directly on their doorstep.
In return, pharmacists will benefit from tax credits to compensate for the expenses incurred to run the scheme, which will be rolled out next year.
Details on the implementation of this electoral pledge made by the Labour Party in the last general election were announced yesterday at the signing of an agreement between the Health Ministry, the Chamber of Small and Medium Enterprises – GRTU and the Chamber of Pharmacists. Some aspects of the scheme, which may benefit 40,000 elderly patients, still need to be ironed out. For this reason a four-month trial scheme will be rolled out in the first quarter of next year in Paola and Rabat.
Health Minister Konrad Mizzi said the exercise would enable pharmacists to fine-tune the scheme and address certain logistical aspects.
He noted that the measure was an extension of “the highly successful” Pharmacy of Your Choice scheme rolled out in 2007 through which patients receive free medicine at their preferred pharmacy. The agreement signed yesterday extended this scheme to 2019.
“This is another step forward because elderly patients will have the choice to receive medicine directly at home and the government will not pay extra for this premium service,” Dr Mizzi said. Under the agreement, pharmacists will also assume administrative responsibilities to manage medicine stock levels to ensure there are no shortages.
Parliamentary Secretary Chris Fearne pointed out that pharmacists would also be briefing patients on the right dosage.
Asked about the financial viability of the scheme for pharmacists, the president of the Chamber of Pharmacists, Mary Ann Sant Fournier, said it was still early days to evaluate the impact of this model on members.
She pointed out, however, that the tax credits would encourage investment in human capital and transport infrastructure, which, in turn, could stimulate the creation of jobs.