Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 10 July 2014
181. Deputy Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin asked the Minister for Health if he will quantify the full-year savings from sourcing the 20 most expensive and 20 most common on-patent pharmaceuticals from another member state parallel import, that state being where the cost of the drug is the lowest in Europe. [30465/14]
View answerMost drugs and medicines which are paid for by the HSE are supplied to patients through over 1,800 community pharmacies who, in turn, purchase them from wholesalers or, to a lesser extent, directly from drug manufacturers. The current pharmacy based model results in over 70 million items being dispensed annually through local pharmacies across the State, including low population centres in rural areas. It enables pharmacies to receive deliveries each day from multiple wholesalers ensuring that all patients have continued access to essential medicines without delay. Under this model, as the drugs are purchased by individual pharmacies with no direct input by the HSE, there is no scope for the type of central procurement arrangement envisaged by the Deputy.
