[Revised Jan 1999]
If a price is unexpected, work it out on paper being sure to consider all markups, dispensing fees, GST, premiums etc.
- If this shows that the unexpected price is in fact correct the problem is solved.
- If not, then consider the points below, and if none of these point to the cause, send the worked example to the support service for examination.
Causes of 'wrong' prices are, in order of reported frequency;
Price is unexpected (but correct). Script pricing is now so complex that it is easy to forget some factor, such as a Premium, and think the price is wrong when it is not. This is by far the most common cause of reported 'wrong' prices, so please before reporting a fault, consider;
Cost price change. Has the cost price changed? One dose form or pack size may have changed in price when another has not, and this needs to be taken into account.
SS/NHS category Has the SS category changed? One dose form or pack size may now be NSS, and so correctly different.
Premium A premium may have been introduced or removed, sometimes on just one dose form or pack.
Scripts with large premiums, whether suppressed or not, may correctly have very unusual prices.
GST Have you taken GST into account?
Hypnotic repeats are covered in a separate section.
'Under s'net' NSS scripts Scripts under $15 for a $15 patient show a patient price of the 'Under s'net NSS price'. A premium that would apply if it was an exempt patient is also displayed but not applied since the script is NSS. Pressing <f12> to remove the premium will reduce the NSS price needlessly since this is not a SS item under these circumstances.
Price carries over $15.00
There is no relationship between the price of a script under or over the $15.00 point as they use different formulae. It is possible for 29 of a tablet to be one price and 30 to be much cheaper for the patient. Or for 29 to be one price and 30 much more expensive. Normal logic is no guide to correctness.
Eg; Gyno pevaryl Vag Cr 40g, and 80g prices as of Jan 1999;
40g Subsidy cost $4.38
Actual cost $8.97
Premium $11.55/40g
Worked example for 40g;
$4.38 subsidy cost
+ 10% to bring it up to wholesale for purposes of calculating whether under/over $15.00
$4.81
+ 11.28% old markup still used for under/over $15.00
$5.36
+ gst
$6.03
+ $2.72 old dispensing fee still used for under/over $15.00
+ $0.21 old container fee still used for under/over $15.00
$8.96 which is less than $15.00, so 'Under s/net Nss'
Hence, these calculations are discarded as the item is NSS, and it recalculates using the pharmacy's own choice of markup and dispensing fees for 'under s'net nss'. These prices will differ depending on your choice of 'Under s'net' markup and dispensing fee.
Calculation of 40g patient price
$8.97 actual cost
+ 50% or whatever is the markup set
$13.45
+ gst
$15.13
+ $2.72 or whatever is the 'under s'net dispensing fee' actually set in the pharmacy
17.85 which is the 'raw patient price'.
As this cost carries it over the $15, what happens then depends on whether the pharmacy has chosen 'cost + markup', (which charges this $17.85 Patient price)
OR if they have their system set to 'ss + Premium', it then reduces to the SS price, plus the premium of $11.55
Eg, $8.75 + $11.55 = $20.30 patient price.
Now consider dispensing of 80g
80g Gyno Pevaryl Vag Cream
Subsidy cost $8.76 for 80g
Actual cost $17.94 for 80g
Premium $23.10 for 80g
Worked example for 80g
$8.76 subsidy cost
+ 10% to bring it up to wholesale for purposes of calculating whether under/over $15.00
$9.636
+ 11.28% old markup still used for under/over $15.00
$10.723
+ gst
$12.063
+ $2.72 old dispensing fee still used for under/over $15.00
+ $0.21 container few still used for over/under $15.00
$15.00 so script is SS
Working out patient price for 80g
$15.00 contribution
$23.10 premium
---------
$38.10 patient price
Differences of 40g from 80g patient price
Thus the patient price for 40g is $17.85 (or thereabouts, depending on the pharmacy's own choice of 'under SS mark-ups etc).
And the patient price for 80g is $38.10, more than twice as much.
There is correctly no relationship between these prices, being calculated on different formulae.
Normal human logic is no guide to correctness, as in this case.
Repricing. If editing the drug, quantity or patient category, or something else that will affect pricing, <enter> down through all the fields to 'Finish' to ensure that it is repriced under the new conditions.
But note; Someone looking at this script later can think that the data has spontaneously changed, or that the price is wrong especially if the patient has become exempt meanwhile and a previously non-exempt script has been repriced under exempt rules.
Pricing policy 'racheting'
One staff member may consider that a price is wrong and change the pricing parameters to 'fix' it (price parameters described below). However, it is not really wrong but rather a change of pricing policy has occurred and pricing parameters have been deliberately changed. Staff members change it back and forth, all observing that the pricing has become unreliable. This is the second most common cause of reported 'wrong' prices, especially with pharmacies working long hours with different people on duty at different times. It is almost never true that "No one else would change the parameters except me..."
Suggestion Put a note on the computer screen advising all members of staff if a pricing policy change is made.
Pricing parameters wrong
SS markup and dispensing fees are specified in the pricing options menu. User access is provided in case the rules change, but they should not otherwise be changed. Check that someone has not altered them, either accidentally or to 'fix' a problem.
NSS/OTC pricing. Follows the 'NSS and OTC' markup and dispensing fee specified by the user on the pricing options menu. The machine will follow your instructions, right or wrong.
Under s'net pricing. If SS pricing falls below the s'net cut off, it is repriced using the 'Under s'net' markup and dispensing fee' specified by the user on the pricing options menu. See 'Pricing, under s'net' to be sure that what you have asked for is what you want. This has significant effects on repeats with premiums.
Container fee Needs to remain correctly set or will alter all scripts. It is correct for original pack scripts, which have no container, to have a container fee charged as the container fee is an average of all scripts.
After hours fee
If set on the Pricing options screen, will charge on all scripts. Eg, if set to 50c every item will be charged at 50c extra, which will produce the wrong price on every script if it is not really 'after hours'. Set this fee to '0' when an after hours fee is not to be charged.
Data errors
Considerable care is taken to keep the drug data correct, but sometimes wrong information is supplied, missed, or entered incorrectly. If you find an error on the drug cards it can be corrected immediately by you on the card, and please also advise the help-desk so they can change it for the next update or it will revert. Please check before advising an error, that an unexpected price is actually wrong and not just unexpected, as most data 'errors' reported to the help-desk are price or availability changes that our data service has correctly changed.
$13.00 unexpected charge
Occurs on repeats for a $15 patient who was exempt (and so charged the residual $2.00 on the original), but then a family member was removed or s'net count reduced taking the family count below the cutoff. The computer will then realise that the patient is not now exempt and correctly attempt to recover the missing $13.00 on the repeat.
Extemps incorrectly priced.
Extemp scripts bought in from a DOS program, then repeated (or 'copied') in Windows, may sometimes be incorrectly priced because some data required by Windows was not stored in DOS. This can also cause the dilutent not to be taken off SoH. Correct this by reentering the mixture giving it a new code.
How to test the pricing
If the above points do not solve the unexpected price, do a manual test on a calculator.
1. First confirm the correctness of your method by pricing a simple script (one that you know is correct on the computer and which has no premium), working through it on a calculator. If you do not get the same price as the computer then you are missing something that the computer is taking into account... such as GST which goes on after the drug cost but before the dispensing fee and container. Once you get the same price;
2. Manually price the script you suspect is wrong, using the cost, pack size, markup, GST, dispensing fee, container fee and SS component of the Premium, from the drug card and pricing options menu.
This will usually show what is happening.
If the price still seems wrong, write down sufficient detail for the pricing to be reproduced; Quantity, drug, patient category, exempt status, and all the relevant markups, dispensing fees, container fees from your pricing options screen, and working. Fax this to the help-desk which will reproduce it on our test machines and advise what is wrong.
Related topics
Script costs/analysis report, unexpectedly low profit