Prescription Medicines (Hansard, 4 March 1994)

§ Dr. Marek
To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what estimate she can make of changes to the pattern of inward investment by American and Japanese pharmaceutical companies should her Department's recent proposals on changes to the system of prescribing medicines by doctors and their generic substitution be implemented;
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(2) what evaluation she has made of the possible effects on pharmaceutical research and development in the United Kingdom of any introduction of a scheme or schemes of generic substitution of medicines by pharmacists when dispensing doctors' prescriptions.

§ Dr. Mawhinney
The Department has opened discussions with the medical and pharmaceutical professions about possible schemes for generic sub-stitution and will shortly be meeting the pharmaceutical industry.

§ Ms Primarolo
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is her estimate of the income from prescription charges in 1993–94.

§ Dr. Mawhinney
The answer is £267 million.

§ Dr. Marek
To ask the Secretary of State for Health in what circumstances a community pharmacist can substitute a generic product for a branded medicine prescribed by a doctor.

§ Dr. Mawhinney
A pharmacist is not allowed to substitute any product, whether generic or otherwise, for a specifically named product without the approval of the prescriber, except in an emergency.

§ Mr. Peter Bottomley
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what has been the annual rate of growth of the total real cost of national health service medicines since 1978.

§ Mr. Sackville
The information is shown in the table.

Annual real terms increase in cost of national health service drugs (FHS drugs bill plus expenditure on HCHS drugs)

Year Percentage increase in Real terms

¹1978–79 8.1

1979–80 -0.9

1980–81 2.0

1981–82 4.5

1982–83 7.3

1983–84 6.5

1984–85 0.2

1985–86 1.2

1986–87 4.9

1987–88 5.7

1988–89 5.4

1989–90 3.7

1990–91 -0.2

1991–92 7.7

1992–93 8.4

¹ Percentage increase in 1978–79 is based on family health service drug cost as no hospital and community health services cost is available for the previous year.

Annual real terms increase in cost of national health service drugs (FHS drugs bill plus expenditure on HCHS drugs)
Year	Percentage increase in Real terms
¹1978–79	8.1
1979–80	-0.9
1980–81	2.0
1981–82	4.5
1982–83	7.3
1983–84	6.5
1984–85	0.2
1985–86	1.2
1986–87	4.9
1987–88	5.7
1988–89	5.4
1989–90	3.7
1990–91	-0.2
1991–92	7.7
1992–93	8.4
¹ Percentage increase in 1978–79 is based on family health service drug cost as no hospital and community health services cost is available for the previous year.