§ Mr. Rhodri MorganTo ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the answer of the Minister of State, the hon. Member for Darlington (Mr. Milburn), of 23 March 1998,Official Report, columns 49–50, on cholesterol treatment, what estimate he has made of the additional cost of general practitioners following the instructions contained in the executive letter on lipid-limiting drugs and the health care bulletin. [36792]
§ Mr. Milburn[holding answer 30 March 1998]: The overall expenditure on the statins group of drugs by general practitioners in 1997 was £115 million, compared with £20 million in 1993. It is currently rising at the rate of approximately £3 million each quarter. Expenditure on all lipid-lowering drugs totalled some £136 million in 1997.
The Executive Letter, accompanying statement and table gave advice, inter alia, on the use of the statin group of drugs in people with, or at high risk of developing, symptoms of coronary heart disease. Estimates of the additional general practitioner prescribing costs resulting directly from the issue of the Executive Letter are not available as it is difficult to differentiate between these and increased costs which would have been incurred anyway as more trial results became available and were published in the professional press.
However, the best information available suggests that the total cost could reach £240 million by 2002. This estimate depends on the degree of patient compliance, as 198W well as on the particular product which is prescribed and the dosage. It also depends on the outcome of further trials currently in progress which may affect the applications for which these drugs may be used. This figure excludes lipid-lowering drugs prescribed by doctors other than general practitioners.