Estimating a reasonable reimbursement for community pharmacies in third-party programs.

The purpose of this study was to estimate the level of reimbursement necessary to provide community pharmacies with a reasonable profit on prescriptions dispensed through third-party prescription programs. Data were gathered by means of a literature review and a survey of community pharmacies in Virginia. Results indicated that an average reimbursement of average wholesale price less 15% plus a $6.95 dispensing fee was needed to provide pharmacies with a reasonable profit. This is much higher than the reimbursements currently provided in most third-party prescription programs.