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YEAR END REVIEW: Howzat?

Article Excerpt
Pharmacy's had a testing year. Here we review the highs and lows of the past 12 months. Compiled by Ailsa Colquhoun

In the first half

On the downside...

* GSK angered pharmacists north and south of the border with its revised discount scheme. Despite the company's protestations that the scheme would be profit neutral for pharmacists, Scotland accused GSK of putting an almighty spanner in the works of its new contract negotiations, and later in the year, ended up having to reduce the `clawback' scale, as a result.

* Less than 24 hours after the start of the new pharmacy contract, Asda announced plans to open three 100-hour pharmacies, beating Boots and Sainsbury's by less than three months.

* Amlodipine made a brief debut in the new M Category of the Drug Tariff but was quickly moved out again, as contractors convinced the Department of Health that the new price for the drug was unrealistic. It was not to reappear in Category M until much later on in the year. Up to 71 per cent price cuts on simvastatin contributed to fears that the new quarterly pricing mechanism would lead to significant market volatility.

* Pharmacists also watched with growing concern as plans unfolded to switch to the new home oxygen therapy service. As the new suppliers were announced, BOC turned up the pressure by asking for, in some places, substantial financial recompense for lost or damaged cylinders.

And on the up...

*...