§ Mrs. EwingTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what information she has on drug costs in each member state of the European Community.
§ Dr. MawhinneyThe Department of Health does not formally monitor the levels or movement of prices for individual drugs in the other member states.
The consensus which emerges from various independent studies carried out in this field is that prices in the United Kingdom are slightly above the average for the EC. The most recent information available is for 1990 and is taken from a study by Dr. Diener of the German Pharmacists Association, ABDA. He in turn based his work on a 1988 study by BEUC, an umbrella grouping for European consumer organisations.
If the price of a basket of commonly-used pharmaceuticals is adjusted for local factors, such as varying rates of VAT, prices were higher in Germany, Netherlands, Denmark and Ireland. The adjusted price, for the same basket of drugs, was lower in all the other member states.
Many member states are currently taking steps to reduce central government expenditure on drugs, by a variety of means such as across-the-board price reductions, limiting the availability of certain products, increasing patient co-payments and encouraging more rational prescribing.
§ Mrs. EwingTo ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will list the composition of the advisory committee on NHS drugs; for how long appointees have served on the committee; and what was the level of remuneration, where appropriate.
§ Dr. MawhinneyThe names of the members and the dates they were appointed are as follows:
First appointed Chairman Dr. Jeremy Metters 1989 Members Professor Alasdair Breckenridge 1985 Professor Mark Castleden 1990 Mr. David Coleman 1985 Professor Hugh Edmondson 1987 Professor David Ganderton 1985 Dr. Iona Heath 1990 Dr. Derwyn Jones 1992 Professor Ronald Jones 1990 Mr. Alan Kerr 1990 Dr. Elizabeth Poskitt 1989 Dr. Jane Richards 1989 Dr. Charles Swan 1991 Professor Peter Tyrer 1989 Dr. Dorothy Ward 1991 Members other than the Chairman receive a fee of £100 for attending each meeting.
§ Mrs. EwingTo ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will list what is the procedure for(a) pharmaceutical companies and (b) those who prescribe drugs to (i) ask for a particular drug to be included in the selected list and (ii) overturn a decision to blacklist a drug from the selected list.
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§ Dr. MawhinneyManufacturers are notified before their products are reviewed by the advisory committee on national health service drugs and given a further opportunity to make representations against any decision to add a product to the list of drugs which cannot be prescribed under the NHS before it is finalised. Prescribers can also make their views known to the committee.
§ Mrs. EwingTo ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will list the representations she has received from(a) the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry, (b) those who prescribe drugs and (c) others, to extend the number of drugs on the current selected list.
§ Dr. MawhinneyI have received no such representations.
§ Mrs. EwingTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what discussions she has had with(a) representatives of the pharmaceutical industry and (b) the advisory committee on NHS drugs, about research and development into new products and medicines that may be affected by the selected list.
§ Dr. MawhinneyMy right hon. Friend the Secretary of State met representatives of the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry on 19 November and discussed the implications of extending the selected list scheme. The advisory committee on national health service drugs is able to take into account any matters brought to its attention by the manufacturers of individual products, in the light of its remit to ensure that drugs to meet all clinical need in the specified categories can be provided as economically as possible under the NHS.
§ Mrs. EwingTo ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what procedures are in place to ensure the effectiveness of the advisory committee on NHS drugs;
(2) what consultations there have been on the effectiveness of the advisory committee on NHS drugs since its introduction.
§ Dr. MawhinneyThe committee has demonstrated its effectiveness by enabling downward pressure to be applied to the growth of the drugs bill without patient care being prejudiced. We expect it to continue to do so.