§ Mr. Hickmetasked the Secretary of State for Social Services, pursuant to his reply of 16 April, Official Report, column 166, why his Department undertook a dispensing doctors' discount inquiry in 1983; what were its terms of reference; what were its conclusions; if he will place a copy in the Library; and if he will make a statement;
(2) what steps his Department is taking to ensure that dispensing doctors account for all discounts they receive as from 1 April from drugs' manufacturers and wholesalers.
§ Mr. Kenneth Clarke[pursuant to his reply, 16 May 1985, c. 218]: In their twelfth report the Doctors' and Dentists' Review Body invited the health Departments and the profession to consider whether there should be some adjustment to their recommendations to take account of the differential between the net incomes of dispensing and non-dispensing doctors. As a result the inquiry was conducted with terms of reference to establish if, and if so by how much, dispensing doctors were able to purchase their drugs below the value at which they were reimbursed by prescription pricing bodies.
The inquiry found that, on the basis of purchases for the months of April to June 1983, there were wide variations in the size of discount obtained, but that dispensing doctors as a group were able to obtain discount averaging about 5 per cent. General medical practitioners' practice accounts have always shown the actual cost of drugs purchased so that, as I explained in my reply to my hon. Friend on 14 March, at columns 243-44, actual expenses due to the profession as a body are, and always have been, calculated after deduction of discount. The amount of expenses distributed to the profession as a whole is therefore correct whatever the average discount adjustment. To ensure that the reimbursement of drug costs to 143W individual doctors matches as mearly as possible costs actually incurred it may be necessary to repeat the discount inquiry from time to time.
This inquiry was jointly commissioned by the Health Departments and general medical services committee of the British Medical Association. The doctors concerned, who were disclosing details of their remuneration and business practices, were given an undertaking that the information they supplied would be treated in the strictest confidence and used only for the purposes of the inquiry. Their suppliers were given a similar undertaking. It would not therefore be appropriate to place a copy in the Library.
Project Title Research Institute Funded by Grant >£ Date commenced Date completed 1. Legionnaires disease: Pathogenesis, Pathology and disease processes in experimental infection with legionella pneumophilia Department of Pathogenic Microbes. PHLS Centre for Applied Microbiology and Research, Porton Down MRC 36,067 1982 Continuing 2. Legionnaires disease: disease processes and mechanisms of immunity in experimental legionella pneumophilia infection As above MRC 33,906 1983 Continuing 3. The use of gas liquid chromatography in the identification of legionella pneumophilia Department of Bacterial Metabolism, PHLS, Colindale Avenue, London MRC 37,656 1980 1984 4. Monoclonal antibodies to legionella pneumophilia and related organisms Sir William Dunn School of Pathology, Oxford MRC 27,987 1981 1984 5. To obtain further information about the incidence of legionnaires disease in Scotland University of Glasgow, Department of Infectious Diseases, Ruchill Hospital, Glasgow SHHD 5,933 1979 1980 6. Investigation into legionnaires disease and other infections among package tourists and other travellers (extension of No.5) As above SHHD 5,746 1980 1982 7. Study of legionella pneumophilia in water systems and air conditioning equipment Communicable Disease Surveillance Centre DHSS 98,859 1981 1984 Note: Since the number of researchers required for a project may vary during its progress it is not practicable to give detailed information.