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Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Wednesday, 13 Mar 1996

Vol. 463 No. 1

Written Answers. - Drug Costs.

James Leonard

Ceist:

28 Mr. Leonard asked the Minister for Health the savings which could be made if only the lowest priced generics in a range of tranquillisers and antibiotics were prescribed in view of the increasing cost of drugs. [5712/96]

Limerick East): The term “tranquilliser” is a general term which covers a number of classifications of medicinal products in use, including the classifications of anxiolytics, hypnotics and sedatives. The total projected potential savings in respect of these three classifications is in the order of £453,000 per annum on the GMS scheme, if the lowest priced generic is prescribed in every case.

The projected potential savings that could be made in respect of antibiotics is in the order of £1.4 million per annum on the GMS scheme if the lowest priced generic is prescribed in every case.

Decisions regarding the prescribing of particular medicines are solely a matter for the professional judgment of the medical practitioner concerned. The measures which have been taken by the Department and the health boards, in conjunction with the medical professsion, for encouraging the rational, safe, and cost effective use of prescription medication, protect the right of the doctor to prescribe as he-she considers necessary.

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