Page 22 - P4304.1-V91_PS-Magazine-November 2023 PRINT

You need to know what you are doing

When you are offered a ‘bargain’ please remember the person doing the
offering is a sales person, and their job is to SELL you something. YOU need
to check out the offer and make sure you are not being sold a ‘pup’. I have a
really good example here, which came to light during a conversation with a
practice (you know who you are!) The goods came from Clarity Pharma Ltd.

PSUK APM
Item Clarity Price
Price
Lansoprazole 30mg 0.70 0.69
Omeprazole 20mg 1.85 1.45
Citalopram 10mg 0.46 0.58
Allopurinol 100mg 0.28 0.37
Ramipril 5mg 0.65 0.68

So at first glance some of these prices look OK, however given the practice
ordered 200 Omeprazole the final invoice total for Clarity was £435.60 when
the APM total would have been £360.80. It’s easy to be misled or to order
items without checking – please don’t. Always do the price comparison if you
really want to order elsewhere; my advice is don’t bother however it’s not my
business, it’s yours.
Just to be clear though; companies like Clarity Pharma are not all bad by any
means. I know for a fact they have some corking deals on some very high cost
DT generics such as “Pramipixole” MR, but please be selective and do not
impulse buy other lines just to make up the order.
As PSUK members, you are part of a massive protected buying group within
the PHOENIX family and the prices they offer to you as members are keen.
I know it is difficult to be sure because the prices on the ordering portal and
invoices are not the discounted end prices but there is nothing stopping you
asking for your ‘true’ prices at the end of the month once your rebates have
been paid. I do this on an occasional basis just to reassure myself that I am
still being offered competitive rates. Your PSUK account manager will help you
with this if you ask.

So I think you will all realise that my best advice is to take advantage of your
generic scheme and only purchase elsewhere if you have to and even then only
once you have done your maths. Always compare like with like; understand
your NET price from PSUK when you are looking at the prices other suppliers
have to offer and remember, the only discount that is important is the one
that gives you a positive margin on Tariff. In other words how much cheaper
than the CURRENT Drug Tariff price is the item you are buying, remembering
that DT prices change each month and the prices can, and often do, go down.
Knowledge is king when it comes to purchasing generics so for goodness sake
don’t be going shopping without all the facts at your fingertips.

Get in touch with me at
carolinepond@chasepeople.com

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

06/10/2023 16:47:55
P4304.1-V91_PS-Magazine-November 2023.indd 22 06/10/2023 16:47:55
P4304.1-V91_PS-Magazine-November 2023.indd 22