Health: Drugs

House of Lords written question – answered at on 19 December 2011.

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Photo of Lord Laird Lord Laird UUP

To ask Her Majesty's Government what (1) proportion, and (2) amount, of the NHS drug budget in the last five years was spent on (a) generic drugs, and (b) non- generic drugs; and what announcements were made in that period regarding the savings that would be made due to switching to generic drugs.

Photo of Earl Howe Earl Howe The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health

The information requested for drugs and appliances dispensed in the community in England is shown in the following table. A prescription item is classed as generic if it has been prescribed by generic name and is available generically.

This information is not available for drugs and appliances prescribed and dispensed in secondary care.

Year Net ingredient cost (NIC) of generic prescription items £m NIC of non- generic prescription items1 £m Total NIC £m2 Generic proportion of NIC % Non generic proportion of NIC %
2006-07 2,296 5,954 8,250 27.8 72.2
2007-08 2,193 6,111 8,304 26.4 73.6
2008-09 2,076 6,300 8,376 24.8 75.2
2009-10 2,323 6,298 8,621 26.9 73.1
2010-11 2,444 6,437 8,881 27.5 72.5

Source: Prescription Cost Analysis (PCA)

Notes:

1 includes dressings and appliances as these are not written by generic name

2 totals may not sum due to rounding

In 2007, the National Audit Office (NAO) reported that primary care trusts (PCTs) could save more than £200 million a year without compromising patient care if general practitioners prescribed a higher proportion of lower cost, generic medicines.

The NAO has subsequently reported that in 2008, PCTs realised savings of £394 million (relative to the period August 2005 to July 2006) through a more consistent use of lower cost, generic medicines for some common conditions such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol and gastric problems.

In 2010, the department consulted on proposals to implement "generic substitution" in primary care. After consulting, we decided not to progress these proposals any further.

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