Page 20 - P4304.1-V91_PS-Magazine-November 2023 PRINT

The importance of

understanding your

generic scheme.

by Caroline Pond

I know I bang on about brands and making sure you are signed up to all the
Manufacturer Discount Schemes (MDS) all the time, but I also never want
you to forget how important your generic purchasing is.

Well over 50% of your value of purchasing will be generic and this will probably equate to over
80% of your prescription items so, whilst a great many of these items will cost less than a
couple of pounds, they are still your bread and butter, and they matter.
However, understanding your generic purchasing is important to your profit margins, doesn’t
mean you all of a sudden become full time buyers for your organisation with a desk full of
brochures and price lists taking up hours of your time, under the hope of saving a bob or two!

I have two words of warning when it comes to shopping around for your generics:
1. Time is money.
2. You need to know what you are doing.

Time is money.
Let’s say you spend the equivalent of a day a week going through short-liner price lists and
taking calls from companies offering a ‘not-to-be-missed’ price offers on a handful of generic
lines, will the sums really add up?
When you look at the Drug Tariff reimbursement price of the top 20 generic lines in July the
average price of an item is £1.33.

20 PS Magazine | The importance of understanding your generic scheme Buy direct online at PSUK.co.uk

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