Vol. 411 No. 2
60 Mr. Callely asked the Minister for Health if he will outline the discussions which took place with the medical profession in connection with prescribing targets as recently set out by his Department in relation to savings in the GMS; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
61 Mr. Callely asked the Minister for Health if he will outline the impact of the recently introduced national formulary on prescribing habits by general practitioners; if any noticeable cost implications have arisen as a result; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
I propose to take Questions Nos. 60 and 61 together.
The continuing increase in the cost of drugs in the GMS which has been running at about 11 per cent in real terms, for the last four years, is a cause of serious concern. The review group on the General Medical Services, which were representative of the Irish Medical Organisation and management, accepted that there were opportunities to reduce these costs without reducing the quality of service to patients and identified and agreed on a range of initiatives to bring this about including: the introduction of a national formulary, indicative drug targets, and the establishment of a national therapeutics advisory committee with responsibility for the determination and co-ordination of appropriate prescribing levels.
The recommendations of the review group in relation to drugs are being phased in on an ongoing basis as part of a co-ordinated strategy and are expected to bring about a stabilisation of costs in this area. The success of the strategy will be reviewed at the end of the year to ascertain if further measures to control costs are warranted.
