By HELEN PUTTICK HEALTH CORRESPONDENT
GPS have been stopped from giving patients three drugs which would have saved the NHS hundreds of thousands of pounds in a clash over the Scottish Government’s prescribing policy.
The tablets – which include the painkiller co-codamol – were on offer under brand names at a cheaper price and managers in one of Scotland’s largest health boards had written to all surgeries saying they should be used. If all GPs prescribed Zapain instead of co- codamol it could have saved NHS Lanarkshire alone up to GBP500,000 a year.
Although the Scottish Government had apparently agreed the plan, ministers decided it could turn out to be a false economy in the longer term because it could lead to a reduction of competition in the market. The board later had to withdraw it completely after further discussions with government officials. It is understood NHS Ayrshire and Arran were also unable to progress with the same initiative.
One GP claimed the move had been “kiboshed” because it affected pharmacists’ income.
The doctor continued: “We have to make savings . . . This was a straightforward switch that had been no detriment to patients at all.”
Now the health board faces the prospect of having to make the savings elsewhere.
The government has told health boards they must make savings of 2per cent each year for the next three years. Across NHS Scotland this equates to GBP154.5m in the current financial year, GBP313.9m in 2009-10 and GBP478.4m in 2010-11.
Managers aim to make cuts which do not affect patient care and finding ways to control the soaring drugs bill is often a target area. Usually GPs are encouraged to prescribe non-brand name drugs – known as generics – because they are cheaper.
However NHS Lanarkshire advised family doctors that for three treatments branded versions were cheaper.
As well as Zapain, these were Efcortelan, which is a hydrocortisone cream, and Buspar, an anxiety drug known generically as busprione. Now, though, GPs have been advised not to implement the policy.
The Scottish Government said it favoured generics because buying cheaper branded products could turn out to be a false economy in the longer term.
A spokesman said: “Some companies introduce branded drugs just below the generic price to try to increase their share of the market. These drugs may therefore appear at first to be cost- effective, however this is a false economy as prices of generic medicines are subject to regular market fluctuations – usually reductions in price.
“If NHS boards are tied into schemes where they use branded drugs they cannot benefit from potential generic price reductions ” In addition he said a drop in demand for generic products could cause suppliers to stop producing them, creating shortages when demand spiked. The spokesman also indicated that if pharmacists lost money because they received less reimbursement for the cheap branded products than the generic versions, under their funding agreement, the NHS may have to make up the gap.
He said: “Prescribing of a branded drug where a generic equivalent is available would run the risk of NHS Scotland having to make up any apparent saving, as this would result in a shortfall in the negotiated funding package for community pharmacists, which is set to ensure the viability of the community pharmacy network in Scotland.”
In a statement Community Pharmacy Scotland, which represents pharmacy owners, said: “Community Pharmacy Scotland has concerns that if the supply of a medicine which is freely available as a generic is directed to a particular manufacturer’s product then there is the possibility of a short-term perceived financial gain but in the long term this could result in problems with continuity of medicines supply and inevitably lead to more expensive generic medicines and a greater cost to the NHS in Scotland.”
INSIDE Leader Page 14
Originally published by Newsquest Media Group.
(c) 2008 Herald, The; Glasgow (UK). Provided by ProQuest LLC. All rights Reserved.
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