CHEMISTS’ CHARGES

Wairarapa Times-Age, 12 July 1938, Page 8

CHEMISTS’ CHARGES

INTRODUCTION OF UNIFORM SCALE IN OPERATION THROUGHOUT DOMINION. IMPROVEMENT IN BUYING FACILITIES. (By Telegraph—Press Association.) WELLINGTON, This Day. Uniform charges for compounding and dispensing prescriptions at all pharmacies throughout the Dominion came into operation on Saturday. The Director of Pharmacy, Mr E. R. Myers, stated in an interview yesterday that these charges were based on the cost of ingredients and the compounding of the actual mixture. Every pharmacy proprietor or manager had been suppled with complete schedules showing drug prices and dispensing fees, together with general instructions on the operation of the adopted system. Mr Myers said that during the ensuing six months continuous attention would be given by the Pharmacy Plan Industrial Committee to investigating still further the wholesale costs of drugs and other factors involved, with a view to making the cost of medicines to the public as economical as possible. “It is important to remember that the chemist cannot live by dispensing alone,” added the director. “This part of his business can carry only a small part of his overhead expenses and the remainder must be carried by the general business done. Good progress has been made in improving the buying facilities of the chemists so that they can sell at lower prices the many medical, surgical and toilet sundries required by the public. Continued efforts in this direction will increase turnover and allow still further reductions in prices to the public.”