I propose to take Questions Nos. 13 and 146 together.
Throughout the six months from December 1998 to May 1999, officials from my Department and the General Medical Services Payments Board conducted negotiations with community pharmacists on the basis that drug payments scheme claims would be transmitted electronically to the board. It was accepted that not all pharmacies would be in a position to conduct business electronically immediately, but given that more than 200 were at that time transmitting GMS claims electronically each month and the numbers were increasing, it was expected that, with the launch of the drug payments scheme, the number of pharmacies with this facility would have increased considerably. It would appear that not all pharmacies had been provided by their system suppliers with the facility to communicate electronically with the GMS Payments Board.
In early June 1999 my Department was informed that pending resolution of a range of issues which were of concern to the Irish Pharmaceutical Union, community pharmacies were being advised not to co-operate with the proposal to transmit drug payment scheme claims electronically to the GMS Payments Board. As the scheme is of considerable benefit to a large section of the population, notably that no family or individual has to pay more than £42 per month on prescribed approved medicines, it was decided to proceed as planned with the launch of the scheme on 1 July 1999.
I understand that the GMS Payments Board shortly hopes to be in a position to bring all outstanding claims for payment from community pharmacists up to date and that every effort is being made to keep delays to a minimum. The problems which to date have prevented the electronic transmission of drug payment scheme claims from pharmacies to the GMS Payments Board are also being addressed.