Cost of Medicines

THE suggestion in your editorial (“Drugs budgeting – Inaccurate system costs NHS millions”, September 29) that NHS Scotland is losing out because the actual cost of medicines is different from the advance estimates put forward by the makers isn’t borne out by what the Scottish Medicines Consortium has reported.

For the 28 medicines it examined, 21 cost less than the medicines companies thought they would. The actual cumulative cost to the NHS was GBP32m less than predicted.

Foretelling medicines usage is unlikely to become an exact science given that prescribers can decide that one new product is what they’ve been waiting for while another may be recommended for use across the Scottish NHS but never see the light of day in a particular board area.

Data gathering is the key to getting it right more often and we look forward to the Scottish Government’s commitment to monitor cancer medicines usage being rolled out to other areas. Decision- makers in the NHS tend to err on the side of caution, as demonstrated by the routine underspend of medicines budgets by almost all of Scotland’s boards. It is not in any medicines company’s interests to get it wrong and risk losing the trust of bodies like the SMC.

Andy Powrie-Smith, Director, Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry, Scotland, 4 Crichton’s Close, Edinburgh.

Originally published by Newsquest Media Group.

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