11.01.12
NICE approved drugs should be prescribed regardless of cost
NICE approved drugs must be made available to those who need them, Health Secretary Andrew Lansley has pledged.
Introducing an ‘effective compliance regime’ would ensure trusts prescribe approved drugs, even if they are more expensive than generic brands.
At the moment, around a quarter of trusts are blacklisting certain expensive medications, effectively preventing doctors from prescribing them. Health authorities prefer generic drugs, which are cheaper as any drug manufacturer can produce them. However, these can be less effective and produce more side effects.
Lipitor and Crestor are two drugs on this banned list, which are statins for cutting cholesterol in people who have a raised risk of heart disease and stroke. In 2010, a month’s supply of Lipitor cost £26, whereas an equivalent supply of Simvastin cost just £2.
A survey last year found that at least 14 drugs on black or double-red lists.
Lansley stated: “We will make certain that where NICE gives a positive appraisal for medicine that it is automatically included.
“We will establish an effective compliance regime on NICE appraisals and establish a new NICE implementation collaborative to make it happen.”
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