Basic Conditions of Employment Act, 1997
R 385
Pharmacy Act, 1974 (Act No. 53 of 1974)Board NoticesRules Relating to the Services for which a Pharmacist may Levy a Fee and Guidelines for Levying such a Fee or FeesAnnexure A : Guidelines for Levying a Fee or Fees |
General guidelines governing the determination of a fee or fees
| 1) | Definitions |
"Compounding" means to the preparing, mixing, combining, packaging and labelling of a medicine for dispensing as a result of a prescription for an individual patient by a pharmacist or a person authorised in terms of Medicines and Related Substances Act, 101 of 1965.
"Dispensing" means the interpretation and evaluation of a prescription, the selection, manipulation or compounding of the medicine, the labelling and supply of the medicine in an appropriate container according to the Medicines Act and the provision of information and instructions by a pharmacist to ensure the safe and effective use of medicine by the patient and "dispense" has a corresponding meaning
"Therapeutic medicine monitoring" means the use of serum medicine concentrations, the mathematical relationship between a medicine dosage regimen and resulting serum concentrations (pharmacokinetics), and the relationship of medicine concentrations at the site of action to pharmacological response (pharmacodynamics) to optimise medicine therapy in individual patients taking into consideration the clinical status of the patient.
| 2) | Nature of services provided |
| a) | A pharmacist may, in charging a fee for professional services rendered by him/her take into account one or more of the following factors - |
| b) | the nature of the professional service rendered; |
| c) | the time of day and circumstances under which the service is rendered. |
| 3) | Call out service, delivery of medicines and after-hour fees |
| a) | Where a pharmacist is called out from his/her pharmacy, or the pharmacy in which he/she practises, or from his or her residence or other place where he or she may be, a fee including the travelling time and costs according the South African Revenue Services (SARS) travelling reimbursement table as published from time to time, may be charged. |
| b) | Where a pharmacist is required to deliver a service after normal operating hours, an after-hours fee may be charged. The recommended fee is one and a half times the normal fee for a specific procedure code. The hours of opening of a pharmacy must be clearly displayed. |
| c) | Where a pharmacist is required by the patient or caregiver to transport a medicine to a patient, the transport costs according the South Africa Revenue Services (SARS) travelling reimbursement table as published from time to time may be charged. |
| d) | Where a pharmacist is reclaiming expenses, details of the expenses must be individually itemised. |
| 4) | Collaboration with other health care professionals |
Services may be provided in collaboration with a registered nurse or other registered health care professional as agreed to by the Council and other statutory health councils as applicable.
| 5) | A pharmacist's guide to fees |
| 5.1 | Procedures |
| 5.1.1 | Services for which a fee or fees may be levied shall be divided into procedures as indicated in Annexure B. A separate fee shall be charged for each procedure. |
| 5.1.2 | The fee per procedure shall be based on a procedure code as listed in Annexure B. |
| 5.1.3 | The fee for after-hours and/or call-out services must be levied separately as per clause 3 using the designated procedure codes as listed in Annexure B. |
| 5.1.4 | The fees will be reviewed on an annual basis. |
| 5.1.5 | All expenses claimed must be indicated separately. |
| 6) | Pharmacy support personnel |
The fee or fees may be levied by a pharmacist whether the service concerned is provided by the pharmacist, any other person registered in terms of the Pharmacy Act or a healthcare professional employed in the pharmacy: Provided that any such person may only provide a service or perform an act which falls within his or her scope of practice.
| 7) | Chronic Medicines Authorisation |
A fee may be levied by a pharmacist where he/she needs to liaise with a medical scheme, an entity concerned with the management of pharmaceutical benefits and/or a medical practitioner to initiate or renew a chronic medicine authorisation or update a chronic medicine authorisation.
| 8) | Guidelines for charging fees where one or more service may be provided |
The table which follows and Annexure B can be found in Government Gazette No. 33898 dated 20 December 2010.
