The Government has
decided not to progress with plans for the generic substitution of
medicines in primary care, Health Minister Lord Howe announced today.
Following a full public consultation the Government today
published its response which outlines the reasons why proposals
which would have allowed dispensers to replace branded drugs for
generic versions when dispensing a prescription will now not be
implemented in England.
Doctors and other frontline health professionals have always
based their prescribing decisions on individual assessments of
their patients’ clinical circumstances and will continue to do so.
Prescribers are free to prescribe branded or generic medicines,
and nearly 85 per cent of prescriptions written for patients are
already for generic medicines.
The further use of generic medicines may still provide valuable
savings and the Department of Health is instead building on
existing initiatives as well as looking at other ways of
supporting the use of generic medicines where it is appropriate
and safe and does not add extra burdens for healthcare
professionals.
Health Minister, Lord Howe said:
“We know that there are valuable savings to be made from the use
of generic medicines where it is clinically appropriate. However,
we believe that national plans to enforce generic substitution in
primary care are too prescriptive.
“We have listened to the concerns from the public, patients and
other interested parties about legislative proposals to enable
pharmacists to replace a branded medicine with a generic medicine.
It is also not clear whether the proposals would have provided
substantial benefit to the NHS, compared to the efforts of
frontline staff to implement them. This is why we have decided not
to progress with national implementation.
“We want patients to get the drugs their doctors recommend at the
best price for the taxpayer. Patients should be reassured that we
are looking at more appropriate ways of supporting the use of
generic medicines and, in the long term, value-based pricing will
help to ensure we pay a price for drugs which better reflects
their value.”
Notes to Editors:
1. The response to the consultation on proposals to implement
generic substitution in primary care can be found at:
http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/Consultations/Responsestoconsultations/DH_120431
2. The White Paper Equity and Excellence: Liberating the NHS, was
published on 12 July 2010 and set out the Government’s vision for
the future of the NHS.
http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/Publications/PublicationsPolicyAndGuidance/DH_117353
3. For media enquiries please contact the Department of Health
press office on 020 7210 5221.
Contacts:
Department of Health
Phone: 020 7210 5221
NDS.DH@coi.gsi.gov.uk