§ Mr. ButlerTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what plans he has to secure a reduction in the costs of drugs prescribed by the National Health Service; what information he has about the methods by which the Hallwood health centre, Runcorn, Cheshire, has achieved savings in its prescribing costs and about the scale of the 193W savings; what assessment he has made of the scope for applying similar methods throughout the National Health Service; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. NewtonThrough the pharmaceutical price regulation scheme control is kept on the costs of branded medicines. The reimbursement prices to community pharmacists and dispensing doctors of high usage generic medicines are negotiated directly with the generic manufacturers.
The Government are continuing their efforts to encourage general practitioners to prescribe more effectively and economically by measures such as the provision of feedback information about their prescribing to facilitate self-audit, voluntary generic prescribing and the development of practice formularies. In addition, the Department's regional medical service has increased the number of visits it makes to doctors to discuss their prescribing and has recently appointed two specialist prescribing regional medical officers.
The Hallwood health centre research project is investigating the role of the pharmacist in developing a practice formulary. With the Department's financial support, this project is to be extended in 1988/89 to cover a wider cross-section of practices within the Cheshire family practitioner area. When the information is available from this wider study its possible application on a national basis will be assessed.