Urgent Communication From Dispex- Please pass to your Practice Manager Immediately
Dear Dispensing Practice
PHARMACY VIABILITY PHISHING SCHEME
Dispex are contacting all dispensing practices in England, whether Dispex members or not, in view of the importance of this communication.
You may recently have had a communication from your PCT stating that they have had a request under the Freedom of Information Act (FIA), asking for information concerning your dispensing turnover and other commercial data. Early indications suggest most PCTs have had similar requests.
The only variation between PCTs is to what extent they have processed this request under the FIA and whether or not they have informed practices.
This raises two urgent issues
1. The Data Protection Act
You may well have received information from the BMA or your Local Medical Committee (LMC) concerning your legal rights. Our provisional advice is that you should encourage your LMC to demand of the PCT that they should not enact this request without further dialogue with the LMC in general and its constituent dispensing practices in particular.
2. What is the real reason for this request
It seems likely these requests seek to facilitate pharmacy viability phishing expeditions similar to those recently undertaken in Scotland. Those requests were made purely to ascertain those dispensing locations in Scotland which would support small community pharmacies.
Dispex is currently assisting several Scottish practices to resist resulting pharmacy applications which are entirely predatory in nature and have the potential to destabilise isolated rural medical services.
The release of your commercial statistics by your PCT, whilst potentially legitimate, will almost certainly facilitate predator pharmacy applications which may or may not affect you or your neighbouring practices?
3. What are we doing about this
Fortuitously we are holding two urgent September Pharmacy Forums, which will include potential defensive strategies for dispensing practices. which will include potential defensive strategies for dispensing practices.
Date & Venue
Saturday 25th September 2010 - Nottingham Belfry Hotel Nottingham
In addition we will also be offering advice to medical practices who might wish to open a pharmacy, either as an aspiration or a defensive measure.
CAN YOU AFFORD NOT TO ATTEND?
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