At the fifth meeting of the ninth Governing Board of the PSGH, the board voted in favour of the implementation of the much touted fee-for-professional services. This bold decision comes at the back of discussions around the remuneration of pharmacists in the private sector and the need for pharmacists’ performance to be measured around their job descriptions and not be focused solely on sales.

The initial phase of the implementation is to focus on services that will not require the pharmacists to undergo additional training and certification. This will include consultation services and medication therapy review with care plan development and dispensing fees.

With the advent of PharmD, the expansion of the scope of practice and the transition from a distributive focus to a patient care focus pharmacy practice, pharmacists have adopted clinical care services into their practices. Pharmacists must be able to receive payment in order for the provision of clinical care to be sustainable.

The SEC has directed the professional services committee, chaired by the Executive Member of the SEC, Dr. Richmond Adusa-Poku to come up with a clear roadmap for the implementation.