I read Howard Barnes of CIBA Vision's article on 'Handling the Changes' in optician. I had to stop and start again three times as the content made me nauseous.
Mr Barnes doesn't seem to understand the message that independent practitioners have been telling him for several years. 'His price bands are too large'. I have no problem with Johnson & Johnson - they play fair - they don't charge me any more than anybody else. As an ACE practitioner they support me in practice and help me to provide my patients with their products. With CIBA Vision Dailies for example, Tescos, internet providers and the like get their lenses at a discount of 45 per cent on what I pay. I pay 30p including VAT per lens and they pay less than 18p per lens. Do CIBA really expect me to recommend their products when they deliberately undermine me in the marketplace?
Mr Barnes may think he can distort the market in his favour by betraying the small practices to the big boys but he can't expect us to applaud his warped suggestion that 'We change to more realistic charging'. I have separated fees from product for 29 years. Does he want me to sell product at below cost? He has the weird idea that we work for nothing!
If CIBA wants us to prescribe their products they had better put their house in order because there are plenty of alternative products we can use without detriment to our patients.
Nigel Burnett Hodd
AOP councillor, London W1