asked the Minister for Health if he will request doctors, where possible, to prescribe Irish drugs of a similar PA number instead of their imported equivalent which cost 30 per cent to 50 per cent more.
Written Answers. - Drugs Prescription.
116.
A unique product authorisation number is issued to each product which has been licenced for marketing in this country. Therefore, Irish products cannot have similar PA numbers to imported equivalents. However, as I have stated before, it is the policy of my Department to encourage doctors in the general medical services scheme to prescribe and pharmacists to dispense generic products where appropriate.
The GMS (Payments) Board regularly circularises participating doctors with comparative data on the cost of a standard course of treatment with various alternative versions of the drugs most commonly in use to allow doctors to prescribe the cheapest version available. Therefore, where Irish manufacturers offer generic products 30-50 per cent cheaper than imported equivalents it would be expected that the Irish product would be prescribed and dispensed where general practitioners are satisfied to do so.