§ Mr. Michael MorrisTo ask the Secretary of State for Health how many prosecutions of general practitioners for overprescribing have taken place in England since the National Health Service Committee's Tribunal Regulations (S.I. 1974 No. 455) came into effect.
§ Mr. Mellor[holding answer 8 May 1989]: In the period 1974–88 inclusive the Department's regional medical service made a total of 12,068 visits to discuss with practices their prescribing costs and patterns. These visits are made largely to practices whose total costs exceeded their FPC average by a significant amount. Some practices were visited more than once. None of these visits resulted in a reference for formal investigation of excessive prescribing under the terms of the National Health Service Committee and Tribunal Regulations. However, visits to such high prescribing-cost practices are very cost-effective. We estimate that on average each visit saves around £12,000 per practice in the first full year.