And why do you have to pay for it?
Many patients are annoyed by it: before you receive a medicine from the pharmacy, you must first hear an explanation about the medicine. And that also costs money.
At the pharmacy, you will receive a ‘new drug counseling interview’ (BNG) if you are prescribed a new drug or if it has been more than a year since you received the drug. Since 1 January 2014, pharmacists have to declare this conversation separately from the patient’s health insurer. It is about 6 euros per call. There is an additional 6 euros that you pay as standard for the service when you pick up a medicine. The exact amount depends on the agreements between your pharmacy and health insurer. The insurer then deducts this amount from your mandatory deductible.
Before 2014, the explanation also cost money, but that was less visible because the amount was passed on in the cost of the medicine. The government wanted to make these costs visible to the patient. But since many patients react angrily – half of the pharmacists say they experience this almost daily – this will soon be reversed. From 1 January 2016, the costs for the explanation will be ‘hidden’ again and passed on in the costs for the medicine, as before.
What’s the point of that explanation?
The explanation of the pharmacist is intended to use medicines properly and safely. Using prescription drugs is not without risks.
What can you expect from it?
The pharmacist provides practical information, such as: how should you take the medicine and what side effects can there be? The pharmacist also checks matters such as the dosage and the duration of the treatment. The pharmacist also checks whether a medicine goes well with any other medicines (or over-the-counter medicines) that you use, and whether you are not hypersensitive to one of the ingredients. You will also receive a written explanation, in any case a package leaflet.
Can I refuse the explanation?
New. Not even if you have already used a medicine more than a year ago. And neither if your doctor has already explained everything clearly. Many patients try to get out of the conversation by walking away. If you refuse the explanation, there is a good chance that the pharmacist will not give the medicine. And even if you walk away, you still have to pay for the explanation.
What can you do yourself?
- Make sure that the explanation is correctly charged. Did the conversation actually take place? And is the medicine really new to you? The pharmacist will check your file for this; if it does not state that you have used the drug in the past year, the rate for explanation will be charged. But maybe you got the drug from another pharmacy during that period, or you got it in the hospital. If you report this, the pharmacist can try to find out.
- Is it a drug that you have already received but only the strength has changed? In that case, the pharmacist may not charge costs for an explanation.
- Do you receive no or incomplete explanation when you pick up a new medicine? Then talk to the pharmacist about it. You do pay for it. A sample of the Consumers’ Association in 2014 showed that only 1 of the 39 pharmacies visited complied fully with all the rules for the explanation.
- Use the explanation to ask questions yourself. Think in advance what you want to know about the drug. You can always ask questions, even in between. Many people think that the meter will start running and that they have to pay for this, but that is not the case.
Sources):
- Plus Magazine
