§ Dr. Roger Thomasasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what methods he has introduced to reduce the National Health Service drug bill; and where he estimates that he has been successful according to the latest available figures.
§ Dr. VaughanWe have continued the pharmaceutical prices regulation scheme which enables us to exercise strict control over the level of prices and profitability of drugs supplied to the NHS. Apart from this, the basis of our approach has been to provide doctors with information and support to help them make their own prescribing more effective.
The Department's regional medical officers continue to make routine and special visits to general practitioners to discuss prescribing matters. Shortly, doctors will be able to obtain detailed analyses of their own prescribing when computerisation of the Prescription Pricing Authority takes place. An expanded and revised edition of the British National Formulary was distributed to all prescribers earlier in the year and a further edition is due in September. The Department also makes available to doctors free of charge information about drugs and therapeutics through publications such as Prescribers Journal, Drug & Therapeutics Bulletin, Adverse Reactions Bulletin and "Drug Cost Comparison Charts". As my hon. Friend explained in his reply to the hon. Member of 13 November—[Vol. 992, c. 415]—I have set up an informal working group of officials of the Department and representatives of the medical profession to identify ways of encouraging more effective prescribing. I expect the group to make its initial report at the end of this year.
The size of the drugs bill in any year is affected by many factors such as epidemics or new products becoming available. Consequently it is difficult to quantify the effect of any individual measure aimed at controlling the drugs bill.