Press Release - Cheaper generic drugs save NHS £400
million
12 May 2009
In 2007 the National Audit Office reported
that primary care trusts (PCTs) could save more than £200 million a
year without compromising patient care if GPs prescribed cheaper,
generic medicines. Keele University has now confirmed the
NAO’s finding by calculating that almost £400 million has been
saved by the Department of Health, the NHS and PCTs in England,
through more cost effective prescribing as recommended in the NAO
report.
The Department of Medicines Management at
Keele University has confirmed that, in 2008, PCTs in England
achieved a total saving of £394 million through a more consistent
use of lower cost, generic medicines for some common conditions
such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol and gastric problems.
The largest savings were made on statins, with £277 million saved
in 2008. The Strategic Health Authority which made the
largest saving over the year was the North West, which made savings
of over £70 million. Norfolk achieved the largest saving
among PCTs, totalling £7.8 million.
Michael Whitehouse, assistant auditor
general at the National Audit Office, said today:
“These findings demonstrate the extent
to which GPs choosing to prescribe cheaper but just as clinically
effective generic medicines can lead to real savings for the NHS.
This is all the more important as the NHS’s spending on medicines
continues to rise year on year, as the UK’s population ages and
more and better treatments become available. The almost £400
million saved in just one year is money available to improve the
quality of patient care.”
Notes for Editors
- The NAO report, Prescribing Costs in Primary Care, and
accompanying materials, including guidance material for Prescribing
Advisers, is available at
http://www.nao.org.uk/publications/0607/prescribing_costs_in_primary_c.aspx
- Details of the medicines studied are available, with the
breakdown of amount saved across each drug type, Strategic Health
Authority and Primary Care Trust, on the
NAO’s website. Further details on how the savings for each PCT
were calculated are also included on the website.
- The savings calculated represent savings that have been
obtained through changing prescribing patterns, rather than
changing prices for medicines, over the time period considered. The
total saving in 2008, across all PCTs in England, was £394 million.
An Excel version of the tables, which show how this figure breaks
down by PCT, is available on the NAO’s website www.nao.org.uk
- Press notices and reports are available from the date of
publication on the NAO website, which is at www.nao.org.uk.
- The Comptroller and Auditor General, Tim Burr, is the head of
the National Audit Office which employs some 850 staff. He and the
NAO are totally independent of Government. He certifies the
accounts of all Government departments and a wide range of other
public sector bodies; and he has statutory authority to report to
Parliament on the economy, efficiency and effectiveness with which
departments and other bodies have used their resources.
Press Notice 29/09
All enquiries to Sarah Farndale, NAO Press Office: Tel: 020 7798
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