§ Mr. BurstowTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what estimate he has made of the cost of prescribing beta interferon in each year since 1995 for each health board. [13477]
§ Mr. GalbraithThe information for Scotland for the financial years 1995–96 to 1997–98 is shown in the table.
The costs shown for prescriptions dispensed through community pharmacies are based on the value of ingredients before the addition of dispensing fees or deduction of any discount or patient charges.
47WIn order not to disclose information that may relate to an individual patient, the data are presented on a national basis.
Cost (£) 1995–96 1996–97 April-August 19971 Cost of prescriptions for beta interferon dispensed through community pharmacies: — 27,465 87,418 Cost of prescriptions for beta interferon dispensed in hospitals: 1,894 171,462 56,890 Scotland 1,894 198,927 144,308 1 Provisional.