Letter: How pharmacists can bring down the NHS drugs bill
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Sir: The Audit Commission is rightly concerned by the burgeoning NHS drugs bill ('Better use of drugs 'could save pounds 425m' ', 8 March). Among other things, its report, A Prescription for Improvement, emphasises the role of the community pharmacist in tackling the spiralling costs associated with prescribing. But the Audit Commission does not go far enough in this respect. There are six straightforward ways of using community pharmacists to bring the drugs bill under control.
First, where prescriptions call for 60 or 90 days' treatment, a 28- day limit with a repeat facility should be placed on the quantity to be dispensed at any one time. This would significantly reduce the vast amount of unwanted medicines returned to pharmacies or destroyed by patients and allow for much better and closer monitoring of patients' progress. Second, the Government and pharmacists together should develop ways of encouraging the greater use of generic rather than branded medicines. Third, pharmacists should have a much greater role in assisting GPs with prescribing advice. It is pharmacists who know most about the efficacy of the broad range of drugs available.
Fourth, expensive branded generic medicines that have no added therapeutic value compared with other, less expensive generics should be blacklisted. Fifth, GPs should be required to specify on prescriptions the dose and length of course for each medicine. At the moment, there is vast over-prescribing, which is made even worse when prescriptions are repeated. Finally, the Government should act to stop money being wasted through dispensing by doctors. Dispensing by doctors costs the taxpayer more than dispensing by pharmacists, and dispensing doctors consistently issue more prescriptions per patient than their non-dispensing colleagues.
If these steps were taken by the Government, year-on-year savings to the NHS would be enormous.
Yours faithfully,
DAVID N. SHARPE
Chairman
Pharmaceutical Services
Negotiating Committee
Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire
10 March
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments