Vol. 515 No. 4
129 Mr. Allen asked the Minister for Health and Children the proposals, if any, he has to deal with the situation where the prescribing of generic medical products here lags considerably behind that of many other countries. [6444/00]
The choice of drugs or medicines prescribed for each patient is ultimately the prerogative of the doctor concerned having regard to the individual requirements of the patient being treated. However, in exercising this prerogative it is important for doctors to also have regard to any economies that are possible from rational prescribing which do not have a detrimental effect on patient care.
The issue of controlling the steadily rising costs of prescribing is common to most developed countries, particularly those where a substantial portion of the cost is borne by the State. In Ireland, given that the vast bulk of prescribing is done in the primary care sector, the State – similar to Britain and for the same reasons – has to date concentrated on that sector to control medicines and drugs costs. The introduction of the indicative drugs target savings scheme in 1993 to the GMS scheme has proved successful in controlling the increase in drugs costs and has been responsible for a confirmed higher rate of generic substitution by doctors.
An agreement with the Irish Medical Organisation is in place to ensure a continuation of the IDTSS scheme and to allow the introduction of more cost effective prescribing under the community drugs schemes which will include a switch to less expensive medicines, including generics.
Control of drugs and medicines costs is not, however, just about generics. Accordingly, I should point out too there is also an agreement between my Department and the Irish Pharmaceutical Healthcare Association on a number of matters including the price of medicines supplied to the health services. It covers all drugs and medicines prescribable and re-imbursable in the GMS scheme community drugs schemes and all drugs and medicines supplied to hospitals and health boards.
Another important aspect of the process of ensuring value for money in respect of drugs and medicines was the establishment of the National Centre for Pharmacoeconomics whose primary purpose is to establish expertise in Ireland for the advancement of pharmacoeconomics through education, practice and research and facilitate an optimal "value for money" approach in relation to drugs use. The centre provides an ongoing facility for my Department in the evaluation of new therapies and an analysis of the supply and use of medicines. It will also develop guidelines for the pharmaceutical industry on the appropriate methodology to be followed in the economic evaluation of drug therapies. In addition, the centre provides, inter alia, an annual commentary and analysis on GMS and non-GMS prescribing; and advice to the Department, in an early warning sense, of pending new therapies either in development or already available elsewhere particularly where these may have a significant economic impact.
