Around 5 million rapid screening tests for Covid-19 were carried out in French pharmacies in 2024. A figure which risks falling sharply if the recent announcements from the Directorate General of Health (DGS) regarding the delisting of these tests come to fruition. For the Union of Community Pharmacists’ Unions (USPO), this measure is “a stab in the back” for pharmacies, who will see their margin erode at a time when the economic state of pharmacies is already considered worrying by the union.
€19.50 for a flu/Covid screening test
Currently, Health Insurance coverage for Covid tests amounts to €16.50. This support also makes it possible to carry out a combined screening for influenza and RSV at a lower cost, because the patient only pays the €3 additional cost linked to the medical device. “If health insurance coverage is removed, the patient will no longer have to pay €3, but €19.50 € for its screening. The price of combined tests will therefore increase considerably and many patients will no longer test themselves. »regrets Guillaume Racle, delegate for the economy within the USPO, who denounces a setback in terms of handling epidemics.
Self-tests: cheaper, but less reliable
Patients could then fall back on self-tests, a less expensive solution – €3.35 and €5.20 for self-tests intended for children – but also less reliable. “But the self-test is not as reliable as the reference test carried out in a pharmacy, because the viral load can increase a few hours after the self-test is carried out”explains Guillaume Racle. In addition, the pharmacist believes that the increase in sales of self-tests will not be enough to stem the loss of margin linked to the dereimbursement of antigenic tests. “We are not resigned. We will fight until the end because things can still move. The government has time to think before the decree is published”estimates Guillaume Racle.
-No lessons have been learned from the health crisis
Bitter, Guillaume Racle believes that “ the State seems to be unaware that the screening test in pharmacies is a whole process of care, a whole range of prevention and information work for patients. This decision, if it is maintained, will cause patients to lose prevention habits which will be difficult to regain. Unfortunately, we are not learning from the health crisis, even though we are today facing a particularly severe and deadly flu epidemic. »
Health
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