GPs 'overspending' on drugs
Thursday, 17 Jan 2008 08:11
GPs are spending too much on medicines, PAC report says
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The NHS could save £200 million a year if GPs prescribed lower cost, generic versions of medicines, an influential committee has claimed.
The public accounts committee (PAC) has called for GPs to concentrate on following official guidelines and increasing the prescribing of generic drugs where clinically appropriate.
Research by the National Audit Office found that one-fifth of GPs are influenced more by marketing from pharmaceutical companies than by official NHS advice.
In 2006 £8.2 billion was spent on primary care drugs and the PAC says the Department of Health (DoH) and health bodies can drive this down by efficient management without affecting patient care.
The PAC identified variations in prescribing lower cost drugs for some common conditions across the country; for example 28 per cent in one primary care trust and 86 per cent in another for statins.
Unused and wasted drugs are estimated to cost at least £100 million a year.
The PAC says the DoH must "do more" to find out why this is happening and should consider making it clear on the packaging how much the medicine costs.
PAC chairman Edward Leigh said the committee understands the pressure of marketing from pharmaceutical companies but called on GPs to follow official guidelines.
"The fact that primary care trusts vary hugely in the extent to which their GPs prescribe generic drugs for common conditions shows what can be achieved," he added.