§ 13. Mr. ClaphamTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the administrative cost of general practitioner fundholding; and if she will make a statement.
§ Dr. MawhinneyThe management allowance is about 2 per cent. of the budgets set. This is more than offset by the improvements fundholders are achieving in waiting times and quality of care.
§ Mr. CousinsTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what information she has about differences in prescribing practices of general practitioner fundholders and other general practitioners; and from what sources that information has been derived.
§ Dr. MawhinneyPrescribing analysis and cost and budget monitoring information provided by the Prescription Pricing Authority shows that fundholders prescribe drugs in generic form more often than non-fundholders—figures for 1992–93 are shown in the204W table—that the rate of growth of drug expenditure is about 4 per cent. below that of non-fundholders and that fundholders came in at around their budget levels in each of the last two years.
Preliminary results from a research study being undertaken by Keele university suggest that there is no evidence that fundholding leads to any reduction in the quality of prescribing and it may lead to improvements.
Percentage generic prescribing rate 1992–93 Per cent. GP Fundholders 49 Non-fundholders 43