2nd February 2010 An Open Letter to Mr Alex Pappas proprietor Healthwise Pharmacy Colac Dear Sir, I had a very disturbing day today. I visited my mother in Corangamarah early this afternoon to discuss amongst other matters, her finances. During this discussion she told me that the Corangamarah staff had told her that she was only receiving her ‘essential’ supplies from your pharmacy as her account with you was unpaid. As it turned out I had all the records of her financial position with me, and as stated earlier I was there to discuss her financial position. So I checked and your account had been paid by Direct Debit Transfer over three weeks ago. So I called my wife, who had processed the payment to confirm that I was correct, ie the account had been paid over 3 weeks ago. She confirmed that this was correct and that she had advised the change of details at the time so that accounts and any contact would come to me, as I hold her Financial Power of Attorney. Upon rechecking that the transfer had been successful through internet banking, she contacted your accounts staff, who confirmed that “non essential” items were not being supplied, due to non-payment of the account. Additionally my wife rang Healthwise’s head office in Melbourne, as Direct Debit payments are apparently processed by them, however invoices/statements are issued in Colac. As an aside during discussions with your staff my wife was advised that there was a credit limit on her account of $150. This was the first we knew of this unilaterally determined (Healthwise) limit. Even your Head Office people made the observation that this appeared low based on her historical account use. After Healthwise Head Office confirmed the receipt of payment, over three weeks ago, they stated they were ‘a bit behind’. So, what we have in summary is a situation, where you withheld drugs from an 84 year old chronically ill High Level Care resident because your Head Office had not allocated a payment made over three weeks ago, without contacting the account contact. This is a most appalling abuse of the monopoly on Pharmacy services in Colac. This leaves me with a few questions for you: Who decided what were and were not essential medications for my 84 year old mother and what medical qualifications do they have that entitle them to make such a decision? Why would you or your staff think it reasonable to withhold medication from a chronically ill person without contacting the family (updated information was provided to your Accounts Department two days prior to the payment (again over 3 weeks ago) being made and no one has contacted myself or my sister (who also holds Financial Power of Attorney)? Why should you continue to be monopolistically entrusted with the health and wellbeing of the elderly in our community and particularly those in High Level Care, being the only ‘Pharmacy in Town’, when you behaved in such an appalling manner? How many other Healthwise customers, voluntary and involuntary, like all those in Corangamarah, hospitalised or housebound, have been adversely affected by Healthwise’s Head Office being ‘a bit behind’ and Healthwise not checking/following up with account contacts? I await your answers and I am sure that the Federal Health Minister will also be interested in your response given her current deliberations on a third Pharmacy license for Colac. Yours faithfully Andrew Mitchell