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french pharmacies


Patf
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This is one of my few  big complaints about France.

The pharmacies alway look so opulent compared to other shops and businesses. I wonder if this is partly due to a special relationship with the drug companies, who we suspect are making huge profits?

Here's an example - I take 3 types of tablet for a heart condition, so get regular prescriptions from the doctor. Up to ?last year it was 2 monthly, now 3 monthly. A few pharmacies stock the 3 month supply packs, with others I have to go back every month. They make more money out of the single packs, so do the drug companies.

The worst example is pravadual (aspirin +anti cholesterol). The 1 month pack is a huge box with each table packed separately, The 3 month pack , a little plastic bottle with loose tablets.  But do they stock the 3 month  one? Occasionally.

Is it any wonder that the french health service is still deep in debt? The doctors are doing their bit (agreeing to 3 monthly visits) so why not the pharmacies?

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I remember reading that pharmaciens and notaires do equally well in terms of income in France....

Some chemists are better than others: I do resent it when they are so keen to sell you something, that they will go ahead even though it is clearly not suitable (only, you find out later). Another chemist I know (and now always go to) told me when I was asking for a particular medication, "I wouldn't bother with it, it won't do much good" - when I asked for something else then, she said "there is nothing you can take for that, you just have to weather it, and yes it takes some weeks" - that was about a very persistent cough from some virus lodged in the trachea.

But apart from that, I agree with Woolyb, do insist on ordering specially for you the size and item you require, don't get fobbed off.

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Yes, I will ask them next time. The trouble was I had run out of one and couldn't wait. I suppose I could order in advance.

But the point I was trying to make was, perhaps they deliberately stock small amounts because it's more lucrative.

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I get a renewable prescription for six months for allergy tablets and eye drops.  I have never found a pharmacy in France who will give me more than one month's supply at one visit. I just go once a month and get them.  I understood that this is because if the prescription is changed for any reason there is less waste than if you are holding several month's supply.

I don't find this a problem: if I will be away they will let me have my supplies early.

Mrs H

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For my wife's medication, we used to have to go every 3 months to the docs for a repeat prescription. Pain in the neck having to wait 2 hours for a piece of paper. Eventually we asked for 6 months repeat scripts which the doc gave us no problem.

One day the owner of the pharmacy said to me that for the type of drugs being given out it had to be done on a three month script, not 6 month. I ignored this, and continued going back each month and was served by his staff who didn't seem to have a problem with dishing it out.

Oh and before my wife left to go back to Australia, we managed to get her 3 months worth of tablets from the pharmacy, so as to give her time to get herself a new doc in Australia. Was just as well as they refused to put her back on the Australian system at first (despite us paying tax there for the past few years - greedy bastards!). Oh and we never bothered with a mutuelle in France either.

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[quote user="Richard"] Oh and we never bothered with a mutuelle in France either.[/quote]

Although slightly off-topic the question of whether to have cover via a mutuelle is an interesting one and very personal. Certainly it is a no-brainer in my OH's case. His part of the cost of his monthly medicines if he didn't have cover would be more than his existing monthly complémentaire premium. And that is before taking account how he benefits from reimbursements re visits to the dentist - he's just had a crown(!), eye tests and prescriptions, (huge) help towards spectacles etc. Some people win, some people lose. Which is why people need to choose a mutuelle very carefully - if they want to go down that route, that is.

Sue

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While we're having a moan about pharmacies, the ones round here have beautifully arranged displays of veterinary products, cosmetics, slimming aids, etc, but medicines are all locked away out of sight. In Britain, if you have spots on your bottom you can go into Boots and nose around the over-the-counter stuff to see what might work. Here, I would have to explain in my fractured French that I had spots on my bottom (I haven't) while the rest of the shop listened. C'est la galère.
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[quote user="suein56"][quote user="Richard"] Oh and we never bothered with a mutuelle in France either.[/quote]

Although slightly off-topic the question of whether to have cover via a mutuelle is an interesting one and very personal. Certainly it is a no-brainer in my OH's case. His part of the cost of his monthly medicines if he didn't have cover would be more than his existing monthly complémentaire premium. And that is before taking account how he benefits from reimbursements re visits to the dentist - he's just had a crown(!), eye tests and prescriptions, (huge) help towards spectacles etc. Some people win, some people lose. Which is why people need to choose a mutuelle very carefully - if they want to go down that route, that is.

Sue

[/quote]

Certainly is. As it was just my 42 yo wife and I (38) living here, not really worth it. Now it's just me, it certainly isn't worth it. I've personally seen the doc twice in 12 years and one of those times was to have a medical and AIDS test for my immigration application to be resident in Australia.

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[quote user="Edward Trunk"]While we're having a moan about pharmacies, the ones round here have beautifully arranged displays of veterinary products, cosmetics, slimming aids, etc, but medicines are all locked away out of sight. In Britain, if you have spots on your bottom you can go into Boots and nose around the over-the-counter stuff to see what might work. Here, I would have to explain in my fractured French that I had spots on my bottom (I haven't) while the rest of the shop listened. C'est la galère.[/quote]

But everyone is so interested in medical matters here, I bet the listening customers would soon start offerring their own advice - "try such and such monsieur, il marche bien pour ça!"

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In France the independent Pharmacies have a monopoly protected by the French State. That is why in France there are no national chains like Boots and you cannot buy over the counter medications like Aspirin at your local supermarket.

Also in the UK there is a far greater range of over the counter medicines, which are much cheaper than in France.

No wonder Boots do so well at UK airports, as passengers stock up before their flights!
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I am just amazed by the amount and number of medicines you get for fairly unimportant ailments.  My daughter had bronchitis (not at all badly) and she was prescribed

cough mixture

nose unblocking stuff

paracetamol

and a puffer (as used by asthmatics) which had a price of 68 euros on the label.  It was good for 60 doses, I think we used about 7 of them.

It just seems a lot.  (Especially in comparison to Holland where you have to be dying to get anything out of your GP!)

What are you mean to do with the leftovers?

Fi

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[quote user="Fi"]I am just amazed by the amount and number of medicines you get for fairly unimportant ailments.[/quote]

You do not have to have everything marked on the prescription.

[quote user="Fi"]I What are you mean to do with the leftovers?[/quote]

Remove the packaging and bring the medicines back to the pharmacy.

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