Summary
This Report,
'Department
of Health: Prescribing costs in primary care' (HC 173), from the Committee
of Public Accounts, examines the cost of prescriptions in primary care.
It is estimated that around a quarter of all expenditure in primary
care is on drugs. In 1996, the number of prescriptions was 485 million,
dispensed in England; by 2006 this had increased by 55% to 752 million, with
the primary care drugs bill increasing from £4.0 billion to £8.2 billion, a 60%
increase.
The Committee of Public Accounts took evidence from the
Department of Health, on the basis of an earlier report from the National Audit
Office (NAO)
'Prescribing
Costs in Primary Care' (HC 454 2006-07).
The Committee has set out a
number of conclusions and recommendations, including:
- That the NHS
could save more than £200 million a year by GPs prescribing lower cost drugs,
particularly those described as generic versions of the drug, as opposed to
brand name drugs
- That the proportion of lower cost prescriptions for
some common conditions varies greatly between Primary Care Trusts (PCTs), and
that the Strategic Health Authorities should work with the National Prescribing
Centre to develop best practice in prescriptions
- That an index
comparing GP practices and PCTs on efficient prescribing might promote a
culture of best practice
- That the influence of pharmaceutical companies
on prescribing decisions should be monitored by the Department of Health, with
a minimal level set for gifts and hospitality offered by such companies to GPs
and PCTs
- That there should be better information on unused and wasted
drugs in the NHS, with an estimated cost of £100 million a year
- That
the Department of Health should explore with the pharmaceutical industry to
achieve greater consistency in labelling and packaging of generic versions of
the more common drugs supplied to the NHS.
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