§ Dr. Roger Thomasasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will take steps to require that patients should be informed of the cost of drugs prescribed for them.
§ Sir George YoungI assume the purpose of this is to deter those who seek medicines unnecessarily. As I explained in the Standing Committee debate of the Health Services Bill—[Standing Committee G, 1 April 1980, c. 1009–12]—however, it might also lead to patients not receiving treatment which was medically necessary.
357WFurthermore, there would be substantial practical difficulties and it is likely that any saving would be outweighed by additional costs.