Chronic asthmatics and arthritis sufferers are being denied a crucial drug after a pharmaceutical firm dramatically increased the price of a steroid treatment, it emerged tonight.
The Irish Pharmaceutical Union claimed their members have been unable to supply the popular tablets to medical card patients after Phoenix Laboratories raised the cost by 14 times the agreed price.
Dr Karl Hilton said 1,600 pharmacists had been instructed by the Department of Health to refer patients prescribed the tablets, under the Medical Card or Drug Payments Scheme, back to their GP to be offered a generic form of the drug.
But this could lead to nasty side effects. "This situation is completely unacceptable from a patient's point of view," Dr Hilton said.
"While the Union agrees that the Department should not concede to a company that increases their prices outside the original agreement, we are calling on the Department of Health to put a contingency plan in place to ensure that when such circumstances arise, the patient will not suffer as a result but will be able to get full access to their medication as a matter of course."
"It can pose a risk to a patient's health to have to return to a doctor to have a new prescription written and it is unrealistic to expect people on the medical card scheme to be able to cover the cost of medicines themselves."
Phoenix Laboratories had agreed a price with Government health officials for medical card patients to get the valuable treatment. But the cost of the tablets was increased dramatically and without warning.
The Department of Health has signalled it may not be able to cover the price rise, forcing many patients to turn to a cheaper treatment which may lead to side effects.
The generic form of the drug which the Department has recommended does not contain a special coating to prevent gastric upset.
Dr Hilton warned that some patients will either have to suffer the side effects of this drug or be prescribed additional medication at extra cost. "It's a disgrace that patients on long term daily treatment of this medicine for chronic conditions, such as arthritis, have to be subjected to side effects or have to take additional medication to combat the side effects," he said.
PA