Financial Tribune - Insurance companies� lack of accountability in making pharmaceutical payments is one of the main problems afflicting pharmacies, a board member of Iran Pharmacist Association said.

�Given their poor economic situation, how could pharmacies wait for six to nine months to be reimbursed by insurers? Insurance companies must be fined for delaying payments to pharmacies. However, the law is not applied accordingly and no one seems to have the power to confront them,� Alireza Shahriari was also quoted as saying by Mehr News Agency.

Shahriari noted that millions of dollars in bounced checks have harmed the reputation of pharmacists, thanks to insurance companies� failure in complying with the timescale set in their contracts.