Bernard J. Durkan
Question:249 Mr. Durkan asked the Minister for Health the increase or decrease in generic prescribing; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1175/94]
Written Answers. - Generic Prescribing.
Approximately 65 per cent of expenditure on drugs and medicines under the General Medical Services Scheme (GMS) relates to products for which there are no generic equivalents on the market. The remaining 35 per cent of expenditure therefore represents the proportion of the market which is open to generic competition.
An examination of activity in 1992, showed that the ingredient cost of generic products dispensed on the GMS scheme amounted to £9.322 million or 8.8 per cent of total expenditure on the scheme.
Generic dispensing in 1993 amounted to £11.807 million which represented 11 per cent of total expenditure on the scheme.
In the first six months of 1994 generic dispensing amounted to £6.942 million which represented 12.7 per cent of total expenditure on the scheme.
It can be seen therefore that there has been a steady increase in generic dispensing on the scheme over the last three years.