Features of my invoice

They include four different components: 

• Pharmaceutical evaluation: validation of the prescription, analysis of your patient file and counselling services 
• Preparation and verification of the medication 
• Professional responsibility for monitoring drug therapy throughout the course of treatment 
• Operating expenditures * 

* These are the pharmacy’s operating expenses, which enable it to deliver readily accessible, high-quality service, which includes extended opening hours. They include salaries, inventory costs, rent, computer equipment, specialized devices, electricity, and financial charges, among others. These are expenses that any business needs to cover. 

Therefore, the professional fees that you see on the invoice do not represent the net profit or the owner-pharmacist’s salary. 

It is important to note that both the cost price of the drug and the amount paid to the distributor, listed on the invoice, are the actual prices the pharmacist pays. Consequently, these amounts do not include a profit margin for the pharmacy. 

The Act Respecting Prescription Drug Insurance now requires that the invoice patients receive from their pharmacist when purchasing medications on the Régie’s List include greater detail. It provides you with the same information as before, but in more detail. 

It is the price covered by the RGAM for a given medication; it corresponds to the price payable by the RAMQ for this same medication, which private insurers are also required to cover. This price does not include professional fees, and applies only to the cost of the medication and the amount paid to the distributor. 

The RGAM price may differ from the total price paid by the pharmacist in certain specific cases which are determined by the government. In such cases, the law provides that the difference be paid by the patient. 

The price paid by the RGAM (Régime général d’assurance médicaments, the prescription drug insurance plan) corresponds to the price payable by the RAMQ (Régie de l’assurance maladie du Québec, the Quebec health insurance board) for the medication that private insurers are also required to cover. This price does not include professional fees, and applies only to the cost of the medication and the amount paid to the distributor. 

The contribution of patients covered under the public plan, which includes the deductible and co-insurance, is set by the government, based on various criteria. For more information, you can reach the Régie de l’assurance maladie du Québec at 1 800 561-9749 or visit the RAMQ website at www.ramq.gouv.qc.ca. 

The contribution of patients covered under a private plan is set by the insurer, based on the patient’s coverage plan. The pharmacist has no information on the provisions of the patient’s private insurance plan. For more information in this regard, the patient must contact his employer or his insurer. 

In addition to the cost price paid for the drug, the pharmacist pays the distributor an amount set by the government for ensuring drug supplies. It does not include a profit margin for the pharmacy. 

The cost price of the drug is the actual price the pharmacist pays. It does not include a profit margin for the pharmacy. 

The invoice is subdivided into three components. The cost price of the medication paid by the pharmacist and the amount paid to the distributor (wholesaler) by the pharmacist are amounts that do not include any profit margin for the pharmacy. The third component is your pharmacist’s professional fees.