November 2001 issue Pharmacy Today magazine

HB INVESTIGATES BULK SUPPLY CLAIMS

Pharmacists are being warned that any deliberate and dishonest claiming on bulk supply orders (BSO) could result in court action.

Health Benefits has commenced an overall audit after noticing an increase in BSO claims.

The audit aims to eliminate and correct the problem, and HB will be claiming back any over-payments.

That is where the matter will end if there has been a misunderstanding over the BSO claims.

However HB national compliance manager Paul Johnstone says any deliberate and dishonest action by pharmacists will be treated more seriously and may result in court action.

BSO forms were introduced to allow approved institutions to re-stock their drug cabinets with general use medicines for non-identified patients. The quantity of medicine supplied via the BSO form must not be in excess of what is a reasonable monthly allocation.

However, Health Benefits believes some pharmacies are inappropriately using these forms for named patients.

Paul Johnstone says individually named patients receiving medicines via BSOs are not contributing the appropriate co-payment. This means HB is subsidising the complete cost of each medicine.

Back to welcome page

Back to news archives