No stone unturned in UK PPRS negotiations
This article was originally published in Scrip
Executive Summary
The UK department of healthis leaving no stone unturned during its negotiations on a new pharmaceutical price regulation scheme. It has written to NHS Trusts to gather information on medicines dispensed at home although prescribed in secondary care (hospitals). These products may have bypassed the pharmacy information systems which are being used to collect information on drug prescribing in hospitals. The growth of medicines expenditure in secondary care is significantly higher than in community care, the department points out. It also notes that the headline agreement with the industry signed in June called for a price cut of 2% for medicines if the actual rate of growth in the drugs bill in primary and secondary care in England exceeds 6.7% in either 2008 or in 2009. As the NHS branded drugs bill in primary and secondary care currently stands at £8 billion, the savings the government would get if this additional 2% is triggered would be substantial, the DoH comments.