Offaly pharmacists earn €6.1 million in HSE fees

Offaly taxpayers forked out over €6.1 million last year in fees and payments to 29 pharmacists around the county, latest HSE figures have indicated. Topping the payments in Offaly in 2010 is Butler's Pharmacy in Birr, which earned a total of €410,452 in fees and payments from the HSE for dispensing drugs as part of the medical card scheme, methodone programme and drugs payment scheme among others last year, despite a cut in rates paid by health authorities in recent years. Next comes Tullamore-based duo Dolan's Pharmacy and Mr Patrick Carragher of Quirkes Medical Hall, Tullamore, who collected €349,183 and €347,386 in payments for their services respectively last year. Making up the top five earning pharmacists in Offaly during 2010 are Pharmacy O'Riain with €326,408, and Birr-based Peter Fox Pharmacy at €314,401. Blue Cross Engineering, trading as Pettit's Pharmacy, The Square in Clara, comes next in the earnings league making €311,161 and McEvoy's Medical Hall which garnered a total of €300,415 during 2010. According to the figures supplied by the Primary Care Reimbursement Service (PCRS) of the HSE another eleven chemists in the county breached the €200,000 mark in HSE payments last year, while seven further pharmacy businesses in Offaly earned in excess of €100,000 in fees from the Government. At the other end of the scale, the lowest payment is just €1,204 to Grace Hennessy Birr Pharmacy Ltd. Countrywide, Dublin-based Abbey Healthcare Ltd was the highest earner nationwide in HSE payments and fees with a staggering €930,238 for dispensing drugs under the medical card scheme, methodone, fees, dental prescription fees, hitech drug and long-term illness schemes among others covered by the HSE during 2010. For a full list of HSE payments to Offaly pharmacists see this week's Offaly Independent.