News / DH drops drug plan

Plans to allow pharmacists to substitute branded medicines with generic equivalents when filling primary care prescriptions will not be implemented in England, the Department of Health said.

The proposal would have allowed generic substitution of a branded medicine that a doctor had written on a prescription. It would have applied to a select group of products and the Department estimated it would have produced an annual net saving of £19m.

Almost 85% of prescriptions are already written for cheaper, generic drugs, but following a consultation, health minister Lord Howe (left) said it would be too prescriptive

to enforce generic replacement. Responses to the consultation showed a perception that generic substitution posed a threat to patient safety. They also challenged the Department’s assessment of benefits and costs.

‘It is not clear whether the proposals would have provided substantial benefit to the NHS. This is why we have decided not to progress with national implementation,’ Lord Howe said.

He accepted wider use of generics could offer further savings and the Department would build on existing initiatives to support appropriate use of generics.

 ‘Patients should be reassured 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.’

* In October, the Department also issued guidance on cost-effective prescribing for primary care trusts and clinical commissioning groups to assist them in implementing their quality, innovation, productivity and prevention (QIPP) plans. The guidance includes principles to be adopted when a PCT is establishing and administering a prescribing incentive scheme that aims to encourage more cost-effective prescribing.