Media Statement from the Independent Community Pharmacy Association of South Africa: You can now collect chronic meds from Post Offices, but pharmacists are worried
“You Can Now Collect Chronic Meds From Post Offices, But Pharmacists Are Worried”
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In response to a media statement in the Business Insider dated 20 June 2022, we the Independent Community Pharmacy Association (ICPA), a non-profit company representing over 1200 independently owned pharmacies, would like to express our concerns with the announcement that the Post Office will be acting as a collection point for chronic medicines.
Medicines are not normal tradeable commodities. They are prescribed by authorised prescribers, usually a doctor, for a diagnosed, treatable condition in a patient. The medicine is then checked and dispensed by a pharmacist. Both of these healthcare professionals have years of training and are strictly regulated through statutory councils. Medicines are stored, according to legislation, under prescribed storage conditions to ensure that they retain their effectiveness and have not deteriorated or been damaged in any way. Pharmacies store medicines either on the shelf below 25C or in the fridge between 2-8C. They are protected from direct sunlight and any extreme temperature changes, in a clean, safe environment free of any contaminates. Medicines are only handled by appropriately qualified people who are registered with the South African Pharmacy Council.
It is with extreme concern that ICPA read the news that soon patients will be able to collect their medicines from a local Post Office.
1. There are not appropriately trained or registered staff that can handle medicines in a Post Office – that can only happen in a pharmacy recorded with South African Pharmacy Council;
2. Post Offices do not have temperature control and warning systems to manage medicines either at a constant temperature below 25C or for fridge items such as insulins, between 2-8C; and
3. There is no qualified healthcare professional who can assist patients with queries or medicine related problems at the Post Office.
Unfortunately, the Post Office has an extremely poor track record when dealing with normal items of post. We have all seen the photographs of piles of parcels/letters lying for months at depots. We have probably all received post that was damaged, tampered with, pilfered, or arrived months after it was sent. The courier services have grown exponentially as people look for effective and safe ways of getting parcels from point A to point B. The Post Office is not trusted with our letters how can we trust them with our lifesaving medicines?
It is not unreasonable for a patient to want to collect their chronic medicine from a facility that is regulated in terms of Good Pharmacy Practice (GPP) and from a registered healthcare professional who can counsel and advise them on the medicines they are collecting. There are many research articles that highlight the importance of face-to-face counselling sessions with a pharmacist, which sessions have led to a dramatic improvement in therapeutic outcomes and disease management. It is only under GPP compliant conditions that a patient can be sure that the medicine they are receiving has been appropriately stored, handled and that it remains effective. Remember that the expiry date on a medicine only holds true if it has been stored according to the manufacturer’s specifications. Inappropriately stored medicines can quickly degrade, and certain medicines can become toxic or corrosive when they expire.
It is also a known fact that anything between 5-25% of all chronic medicines dispensed through chronic management programmes are actually collected. Currently there is no mechanism for collection of uncollected medicines, and we are very concerned as to what will happen to these uncollected medicines as they start to accumulate at the Post Office. The Post Office is not a facility registered to store medicines, and they have no rules regarding safe and responsible disposal of medicines. ICPA is worried that these uncollected medicines may find their way into the illegal medicine market. Medicine in untrained hands is a danger to society and we must ensure that this does not happen. ICPA does not support the use of Post Office pick-up points for chronic medicines. There are 3794 community pharmacies across South Africa, far in excess of the 300 pick-up points put forward by the Post Office. It would be in the interests of public health to utilize the pharmacy infrastructure already in place and rather have the post office concentrate on improving their parcel distribution, which they are trained to do.
It is imperative for efficient service delivery that we do not allow for the overlapping of professions, especially in circumstances where persons are not trained or equipped to provide the service.
Besides not being appropriately regulated by the South African Pharmacy Council, recent media reflects the poor performance levels on the Post Office. The Sunday Times reported a R9.3 billion bailout request by the Post Office to parliament. Its debt includes R4.3b historical debt, R2.4b owed to Post Bank, R1.8b cash flow deficit, R400m capital expenditure and R400m optimizing staff costs. (Business Tech 20th March 2022). This is a poor reflection of performance and therefore cannot be trusted to administer life-saving medicines to patients.
ICPA is also concerned that those pharmacists managing these state medicines and utilizing the unregistered Post Office sites to facilitate deliveries may be in contravention of the Pharmacy Act and the Medicines Act and be subjected to disciplinary action by Council.
About ICPA
ICPA (Independent Community Pharmacy Association) is an organization which provides independent community pharmacies with a collective strength and a coherent voice that is heard by government, medical schemes, pharmaceutical suppliers and importantly, the consumer.
ICPA represents one of the largest pools of professionals in the healthcare sector with over 1 200 pharmacies, about 3 500 pharmacists and 20 000 supportive healthcare personnel spread across metropolitan, urban and rural South Africa.
The objective of ICPA is to assist and support its members in securing a sustainable and successful future as independent, owner-managed pharmacies.
In addition to this, the ICPA strives to foster an understanding of the role that independent pharmacies can (and do) play in delivering important healthcare services to the communities that they serve. All ICPA members are committed to high-quality pharmacist care and to the restoration and maintenance of the health and well-being of the consumer – the lifeblood of all pharmacies.
