Yes! That is exactly why we need such a separation to improve the retail
pharmaceutical service in Hong Kong. First of all, if they sell prescription medicine they can sell them anyway with or without such a separation. If your point against the practice is "the substandard service" of the retail dispensary, I must agree with you because at the present the retail pharmaceutical service isn't satisfactory at all at the present moment. Such a low standard is due to lacking of bargaining power of the
pharmacist professionals in the business. If there is no prescription to be dispensed and the business is solely depended on selling laundries and sanitary towels or a few OTC medicines, that could not support the cost of the business easily.  They may have to take the risk of selling prescription medicine (just like some doctors are selling Viagra or DD, that simply a way of making money). With a financial rewarding business, many pharmacies can improve the professional standards within months. And we are always fighting for the the ownership of pharmacy should be by pharmacists alone, that would eliminates a lot of " businessmen" in  between.

You must be agreed with me that our concerns are on the patient's health, just like you want the patients have the best medical service, we pharmacists want them to have the best pharmaceutical service. Letting the nurses (trained, even untrained) to take charge of the dispensing isn't safe at all. Even medical doctors are not trained in that! And the nurses could not answer you questions on therapeutic effects, sides effects, drug interactions, even they could not identify the ingredients properly. That is just one of my concerns.

My other concern is if the medical doctors prescribe and dispense at the same time. They would limit the choice of the medicine by the availability of medicine in the surgery, that works against the interest of the patients who would like to have the best treatment available to them. Secondly, I have notice an interesting phenomenon, the GP in HK tend to prescribe several medicines is combination, like 4 types of tablets plus a syrup, many of them are very cheap first generation products with many side effects and with overlapping therapeutic effects. If you go to UK hospital, you prescription would probably with fewer items and more effective medicine. What I want to say it I am fearing the dispensing right (i.e. medicine earned by dispensing medicine) may actually affecting the prescribing behaviour. You may accusing me of saying thing without ground, I admit that, but The NHS in UK actually conduced a survey (because the can obtain the data centrally) the prescribing doctors prescribed more items the the GP without dispensing(Here!)! I wish I can conduct such a survey in HK private clinics, but would you and your friends allow me to do! I don't think so!

I read such I statement recently in a journal, please read it when you have time  Working relationship between physicians and pharmacists in medicinal therapy.

I would be very pleased to hear you side of story, please discuss it here!