§ Mr. CongdonTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what are the routine procedures for assessing the cost-effectiveness of one medicine against another. [38289]
§ Mr. MaloneGuidance on the conduct of economic evaluations of medicines was issued jointly by the Department of Health and the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry in 1994. Guidance to health authorities and purchasers asks them to take account of evidence on both clinical effectiveness and cost-effectiveness in determining local prescribing policies. The clinicians who make prescribing decisions in individual cases have access to a wide range of information to help assess the relative clinical and cost effectiveness of alternative treatments.