A report of the Andalusian Council of colleges of pharmacists augurs well for new falls of billing in 2012 and calls to the profession to mobilize to prevent further cuts that would lead to the pharmacy to an extreme situation.

– in its conclusions, the report invites professionals and their schools to mobilize in a focused way to define a new model of professional and sustainable pharmaceutical delivery and avoid that sacrificed public health by the fiscal balances and adjustments involve severe claims on the quality of pharmaceutical citizens service

Seville, February 2012.- A report for the reflection and debate promoted by the Andalusian Council of colleges of pharmacists (CACOF) predicts that 2012 will be a year very hard for Spanish Pharmacy and stresses that the coming months and even weeks will be key to your future, why encourage professionals, and their schools, to mobilize and act proactively to defend the profession and the quality of the pharmaceutical service to citizens, avoiding the fiscal criteria to take precedence over public health. The report adds, however, that College in defense of the pharmacy action should not be based only on the negotiation of certain compensation levels, but the definition of a new delivery model based on professionalism and sustainability, and welcomes the initiative of the Council General of colleges of pharmacists proposing 12 objectives for 2012 ”as a starting point for the negotiation of the purported State Pact for Health announced by the new Central Government.

Before an image of waste that often moves to public opinion, the study commissioned by the Cacof shows with abundant sources and data that health spending in Spain, before the cuts, was not only provided the developed countries of their environment, but their levels of 9.5% of GDP (in 2009) were in the lower segments of his band. In the same way, pharmaceutical spending in Spain, 1.8% of GDP in 2009, conform to the whole of the European Mediterranean countries: Portugal (2.1% of GDP), France (1.9% of GDP) and Italy (1.7% of GDP). The report notes that, despite this, adjustments linked to the economic crisis in our country, focused very specifically in the pharmacy, and underlines the extremely committed economic times facing the Spanish pharmacy, as a result of cost containment measures derived from the 4/2010 declares8/2010 and 9/2011 already materialized before December 2011, and which should be added which will occur during the first half of 2012, by the progressive generalization of the prescription by active ingredient and the new lower prices which shall enter into force on 1 April ”.

Even if no new measures of adjustment, falls of spending half recipes (GRM) between May 2010 and mid of this year they fall between – 23% and – 28% and, in addition, the growth in the number of recipes will remain minimal, of 1% – 2% a year. In gross terms, the report says spending for recipes of the SNS was in 2011 11.136 million EUR, which meant relegation of 8.8% over the 2010, and 10,96% compared to 2009. It also refers to sources who estimated a fall of around 1.2 billion euros additional spending, which would lead to a decline of more than 10% on 2011 for 2012. A situation which should be added the late payment of multiple autonomous administrations in its payments to pharmacies which, although it will tend to decrease in the coming months, can re-emerge at the end of year, in view of some budgets approved for 2012 ”. All this, says the report, determines that many Spanish pharmacies are now in a critical economic situation, both by the profound declines in its turnover by problems arising from the late payment ”, while also having possibility to offset these adjustments because its structural costs are fairly rigid ” and are particularly rural pharmacies and the more modest, serving a more noticeable social function, which find themselves in a situation worse.

Limit criticism

The report points out that the situation would be critique ” to be limit ” if return to the economic downturn and the overflowing fiscal deficit in all regional administrations leads the Interterritorial Council of the national health system to promote further restrictive measures of spending for recipes. Even if these new cuts did not occur, the report notes that Spanish pharmacies not recover approximately comparable to the 2009 economic balances years ”, because the forecasts on the evolution of the pharmaceutical market in developed countries suggest that volumes remain steady and could even show some decline and specifically in Spain volumes of spending for recipes would be maintained virtually stationary until 2015 or 2016. The report points out that all these data are reasons enough to try to persuade the new Government that fails to adopt new cuts ”. In any case, warns that these coming months will be decisive for the Spanish pharmacy invites professionals to mobilize in a focused way to define a new model of professional and sustainable pharmaceutical delivery and avoid settings that sacrificed public health by the fiscal balance and entail severe damage on the quality of pharmaceutical service to citizens.

Would not be prudent to – or intelligent – expect an abrupt change of compensation levels at a time of economic recession. Much more likely would be that Spanish pharmacies anticipate a historical processes, and initiate a process of widespread and coordinated innovation and adaptation of our model to the requirements of the new pharmaceutical scenario have been discussed, for thus further strengthenedthe support of the society Spanish to your pharmacy. A process in which movilizarían simultaneously collegiate organizations from across the State, scientific societies, academic institutions, foundations and groups of work, etc., under a State Committee coordinated by the CGCOF ”, the report proposes, which welcomes the initiative of the General Council of official colleges of pharmacists submit their 12 objectives for 2012 ”as a document of the basis for the negotiation of the declared Covenant for the healing that the President of the Government, Mariano Rajoy, announced in his investiture speech.