The price of picking up a prescription from medical centres in Marlborough may stop people from getting the medications they need, says Marlborough Grey Power president Tony Preston.
Based on figures given to the Marlborough Express by five medical centres in Marlborough, the average price for a phone-in prescription was $20.
The average price to pick up a phone-in prescription in Nelson and Tasman is $13.
One Blenheim medical practice did not wish to disclose its fee.
Average prices for Christchurch and Auckland, based on five medical centres in each city, were $14.80 and $17, respectively.
Wellington and Dunedin had average prices of $20.10 and $15.70, respectively.
Calls to randomly selected medical centres in four smaller centres found that practices in Timaru and Taupo charged $10 for phone-in prescriptions, Westport charged $15 and New Plymouth charged $12, or $17 if the prescription needed to be faxed.
Mr Preston said the issue would be important for Grey Power in the coming months, as the roles of the committee members are finalised next week.
About three people on the committee would be responsible for the health portfolio, which would look at the cost of providing good medical care, he said.
Phone-in prescription prices were not just a problem for the elderly, but could also prove problematic for younger people and Mr Preston had heard of cases where people were reluctant to go back to their doctor to get stitches removed because of the costs involved.
He was worried people with medical conditions who avoided the doctor because of the cost would get worse.
However, he admitted that for medical practices, it was a "delicate balance" between making a living and keeping prices affordable.
Health services in Marlborough served Marlburians well and if practices could not make money, they would not attract doctors to the region, he said.
Blenheim man Bernard Hadfield said the cost of a phone-in prescription for his wife's ongoing medical condition rose from $15 to $18 soon after GST was increased to 15 per cent in October last year.
Mr Hadfield, who does not go to the doctor often, said the doctor at the time explained that the rise in price was because of the rise in GST.
The price seemed high "when all they have to do is write out a prescription and you have to go to the other side of town [to pick it up]", he said.
Picton Medical Centre practice manager Graeme Faulkner said patients were saving money by paying the $18 the centre charges, because it costs more for an in-person consult.
Refilling phone-in repeat prescriptions still took time to process because the file needed to be found, seen by the doctor and faxed to the right people, he said.
Marlborough Primary Health Organisation chief executive officer Christine Smith said there was no mandate for what medical practices could charge and it was up to individual practices to set their prices.
PHONE-IN PRESCRIPTION COSTS
Havelock Medical Centre – $24 adults, $18 children 6-17, $9 children under 6.
Springlands Health, Blenheim – $24 adults, $18 children 6-17, $9 children under 6.
Picton Medical Centre – $18.
Redwoodtown Doctors, Blenheim – $15 plus an extra $2 to fax.
Scott Street Health, Blenheim – $15 regardless of phone-in or in person request plus an extra $2 to fax.
Francis St Medical, Blenheim – Did not wish to disclose their fee.
- The Marlborough Express
SIMON WONG
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