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13 January 2009

The Minister of Health and Deputy Minister of Health met with the representatives of the National Convention on Dispensing (NCD) yesterday afternoon. The meeting was aimed at looking for ways to resolve the dispute that the NCD has referred to the Pretoria High Court.

The concerns of the NCD were taken very seriously and mechanisms to address them, and will now be put in place by the Minister.

The Minister is pleased to report that the meeting was very productive and resulted in a co-operative agreement on a way forward that will mainly consider the very serious concerns of the dispensing doctors in South Africa.

The Minister is confident that given the outcome of the meeting, a satisfactory result to the dispute will be possible without adversarial litigation or having to seek redress from the courts at this stage.

The Minister has therefore undertaken to ensure that all steps are taken to address the issue of the appropriateness of the dispensing fee for all those entitled to dispense medicines in South Africa, including the dispensing doctors in a timeous and transparent manner.

At the heart of the matter with the NCD are the availability, affordability and sustainability of supplies of medicines to people in our country, and especially the poor.

The Minister is very pleased that the NCD shares her very real concerns that the dispensing fee should not prejudice availability, affordability and the sustainability of supplies of medicines. The Minister is also pleased that the NCD agreed on the principle that regulation of the dispensing fee is necessary.

Finally, the Minister wishes to recognise the very valuable role that the dispensing doctors play in South Africa to make medicines available to people in our country.

Kindly also note that a report in the Business Report referring to an “agreement” to increase the dispensing fee to “30 percent” is incorrect as the NCD and the department are still in discussions on an appropriate fee structure. Such discussions will take some time, and for this reason the NCD was asked to hold its court action in abeyance.

For more information contact:
Fidel Hadebe
Cell: 079 517 3333

Issued by: Department of Health
13 January 2009