“By now we are talking about free speech and controversy: it is enough to have a piece of data, preferably partial, and make it known to represent realities that do not exist. It is a wonder that even those who claim to protect the interests of consumers lend themselves to this perverse game and instead, in this way, do not really help to understand a complex problem such as that of the prices of medicinal specialties".
This is Giacomo Leopardi's first dry comment on the news released yesterday by Altroconsumo regarding the situation of drug prices in Italy, which according to the surveys of the consumer acronym would be the highest in Europe, due to the incidence of distribution.
“If we really wanted to tackle the problem seriously” observes the president of the Federation of Orders “we would have to do so with a mind free from prejudices. Thus, it would be discovered that the distribution margins are only nominally those mentioned by Altroconsumo, since pharmacies, by law, apply a discount in favor of the NHS which on average reduces their margin by eight percentage points. If we really wanted to be serious, we should also say that the discount drops drastically for high-cost drugs, the pharmacy margin, in fact, decreases with the price of the drug and for the more expensive specialties it does not even reach eight per cent. So how can you say that it is distribution that drives up prices in Italy?”
The vice president of the Federation, Andrea Mandelli, also intervenes on the subject, noting two other realities known to all, except evidently to Altroconsum "The first is the phenomenon of the so-called "distribution on behalf", which leads many Regions to purchase the most expensive drugs directly from companies and then have them distributed by local pharmacies with practically virtual margins, when not completely free, as happens in some parts of the country. The other reality, no less known, is that of the chronic delays of the ASL in payments due to pharmacies for the assistance provided, which in some Regions well exceed the year. Just yesterday the pharmacy owners of Campania alerted the five prefectures of their region, because they will probably be forced to switch to "indirect assistance".
“As can be seen, the reality presented in all its aspects changes radically, compared to the one denounced yesterday by Altroconsumo, with an excess of levity that borders on speciousness. The margins of pharmacies, considered in their actual reality, are ultimately lower than those recognized for distribution in other European countries” explains the federal vice president. “It is a price that I not only consider objectively reasonable but also decidedly convenient, compared to the widespread, professional and safe service that pharmaceutical establishments guarantee throughout the national territory. And that becomes a real deal for the NHS, if we consider how the pharmacies themselves, in many areas of the country, actually end up financing "pharmaceutical assistance, enduring biblical delays in paying their fees".
"In any case, Altroconsumo will be pleased to know that for some time the professional organizations of pharmacists have been soliciting a" useful reflection on the mechanisms of formation of the prices of medicines, also raising the problem of the professional remuneration of those who distribute them "concludes Mandelli. “For some time now we have offered the competent institutions our full willingness to examine formulas which, as happens in other countries, are at least partially free from the distribution margin and more focused on the value of professional services. As a further demonstration, if ever ve
This is Giacomo Leopardi's first dry comment on the news released yesterday by Altroconsumo regarding the situation of drug prices in Italy, which according to the surveys of the consumer acronym would be the highest in Europe, due to the incidence of distribution.
“If we really wanted to tackle the problem seriously” observes the president of the Federation of Orders “we would have to do so with a mind free from prejudices. Thus, it would be discovered that the distribution margins are only nominally those mentioned by Altroconsumo, since pharmacies, by law, apply a discount in favor of the NHS which on average reduces their margin by eight percentage points. If we really wanted to be serious, we should also say that the discount drops drastically for high-cost drugs, the pharmacy margin, in fact, decreases with the price of the drug and for the more expensive specialties it does not even reach eight per cent. So how can you say that it is distribution that drives up prices in Italy?”
The vice president of the Federation, Andrea Mandelli, also intervenes on the subject, noting two other realities known to all, except evidently to Altroconsum "The first is the phenomenon of the so-called "distribution on behalf", which leads many Regions to purchase the most expensive drugs directly from companies and then have them distributed by local pharmacies with practically virtual margins, when not completely free, as happens in some parts of the country. The other reality, no less known, is that of the chronic delays of the ASL in payments due to pharmacies for the assistance provided, which in some Regions well exceed the year. Just yesterday the pharmacy owners of Campania alerted the five prefectures of their region, because they will probably be forced to switch to "indirect assistance".
“As can be seen, the reality presented in all its aspects changes radically, compared to the one denounced yesterday by Altroconsumo, with an excess of levity that borders on speciousness. The margins of pharmacies, considered in their actual reality, are ultimately lower than those recognized for distribution in other European countries” explains the federal vice president. “It is a price that I not only consider objectively reasonable but also decidedly convenient, compared to the widespread, professional and safe service that pharmaceutical establishments guarantee throughout the national territory. And that becomes a real deal for the NHS, if we consider how the pharmacies themselves, in many areas of the country, actually end up financing "pharmaceutical assistance, enduring biblical delays in paying their fees".
"In any case, Altroconsumo will be pleased to know that for some time the professional organizations of pharmacists have been soliciting a" useful reflection on the mechanisms of formation of the prices of medicines, also raising the problem of the professional remuneration of those who distribute them "concludes Mandelli. “For some time now we have offered the competent institutions our full willingness to examine formulas which, as happens in other countries, are at least partially free from the distribution margin and more focused on the value of professional services. As a further demonstration, if ever ve
