The NHS in England could save more than £300m a year by being more efficient when prescribing drugs, the government spending watchdog says. GPs could make more use of cheaper, non-brand versions of the most common prescription drugs, without harming care, the National Audit Office said in a report.
It also said at least £100m a year could be saved by reducing wastage, often caused by over-prescribing.
In 2006 the NHS spent more than £8bn on medicines in primary care. That figure represents a 60% real-terms increase in the last 10 years.
The report identified large variations between primary care trusts (PCTs) in the extent to which GPs prescribed cheaper drugs for the same conditions. The watchdog analysed PCT data on the four most common types of medicines - statins for high cholesterol, renin-angiotensin drugs for high blood pressure, proton pump inhibitors for gastric conditions and clopidogrel for blood clotting.
Between them, they account for one-fifth of the entire NHS drugs bill.
The report showed that more than £200m a year could be saved if all PCTs prescribed as efficiently as the top performing 25% of PCTs. If all PCTs prescribed as efficiently as the top 10% of PCTs, then more than £300m could be saved.
BBC
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