Prescriptions to display drug cost

[DampDog]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-33345356

This strikes me as "passing the buck" somewhat and generally trying to guilt trip those who require medication. According to that little snippet £150 millions worth of medication wasted. Well yes, but the system won't allow you to return unused medication for redistribution anyway. If you return unused medication to your pharmacy it is thrown away by them anyway (as far as I am aware) which is a complete waist. Pharmacies are pretty good at making people aware if there is a cheaper generic alternative. But recently there seems to have been a big push if you're on regular medication to distribute your medication in blister packs, so you have the same quantity of medication monthly regardless of your need and no way of returning unused items.(old folks homes have these delivered quite literally by the van load) Surely using the buying power of the NHS to source cheaper drugs in the first place would save more money and implementing a way of getting unused medications back into the system would reap real savings?

 

[D3K]

I was on Champix for a while and the nurse said they were expensive. I felt guilty, so I asked the pharmacist how much and he said £40 a pack. I didn't find this expensive compared to how much fags cost, but I at least gained some appreciation over how much I was getting back from my NHI over the years.

I don't see a problem with publishing it. Those who need it won't care, those who abuse it probably won't care, and those who are not sure if they need it but take it as it's available will probably think twice.

 

[Dis86]

Good idea methinks.

 

[Rroff]

Returning used drugs into the system would be an absolute minefield and require extremely tight regulation which would probably be almost as costly as the waste.

 

[Steeps]

Terrible idea. A product costing £50 might be more effective than something costing £30, requiring multiple prescriptions of the £30 product (to £60 then £90), or alternative products prescribed (another trip to the GP, more wasted funds) when one of the £50 prescriptions could have done the job and probably lasts longer.

GP's and decision groups need to actually look at the data for the products available to work out the best value treatment plan rather than the cost of the drugs/item prescribed at the time.

 

[balky12]

I sometimes think about this or at least to a degree.

It's not a secret some medications / treatments are very, very expensive.

If I was unfortunate enough to rely on expensive medication, that would only pro-long my life, and not cure me, it would make me think. Obviously depends on how long he medication would give me.

If I was costing the NHS 10's of thousands a year just to life a little longer I would probably think 'you know what, put it to better use for someone else'.

That is just my view though.

 

[wildman]

Good idea methinks.

bad idea..............

if you start recycling drugs this way it only takes for one nutcase to have tampered with the products and someone ends up having an adverse reaction or dying. The manufacturers will take the fall, lawsuits for millions and then before you know it R&D pipelines come to a screaming halt.

There are very tight controls around the distribution or all prescription drugs for a reason and trying to save pennies through recycling unused packs is a timebomb waiting to explode. No sane legislator will ever think this is a good idea and if they did they would need to include massive waivers for industry which will never happen as the pharma industry in Europe is one of the most regulated.

The NHS already runs tenders for its drugs, but the fact remains not all drugs are available as generics. New drugs when they are first released by a branded company have 20 + years patent protection and up to 11 years data exclusivity, which means there will be no generic on the market for at least 11 years after the first launch of a new molecule.

 

[chanjy]

I get the impression sometimes that requiring £8.20 per item can be a little earner for people who go to the GP and get prescribed generic antibiotics or painkillers. Would be interesting to see how many prescriptions the NHS makes money on!

 

[ajf]

I don't think this hurts to be honest.
When I go to the pharmacy for a prescription there is often someone commenting how much the prescription cost, especially if more than one item.
Think this would be a good reminder that often this is just a fraction of the cost.
I know some of the drugs I have had to take were close to £100 per dose at the time as they were new drugs.
One treatment that was propsed I was told was £5000 per dose, and four doses would have been needed.
This might make people realise why the NHS costs so much to run a little better.

 

[D3K]

bad idea..............

if you start recycling drugs this way it only takes for one nutcase to have tampered with the products and someone ends up having an adverse reaction or dying. The manufacturers will take the fall, lawsuits for millions and then before you know it R&D pipelines come to a screaming halt.

There are very tight controls around the distribution or all prescription drugs for a reason and trying to save pennies through recycling unused packs is a timebomb waiting to explode. No sane legislator will ever think this is a good idea and if they did they would need to include massive waivers for industry which will never happen as the pharma industry in Europe is one of the most regulated.

The NHS already runs tenders for its drugs, but the fact remains not all drugs are available as generics. New drugs when they are first released by a branded company have 20 + years patent protection and up to 11 years data exclusivity, which means there will be no generic on the market for at least 11 years after the first launch of a new molecule.

Only you and the op are talking about recycling it.
There is no mention of sending it back. the idea is to encourage people to think about how much they are costing the system and to back out if they realise they're wasting.

 

[OhEsEcks]

I remember reading an article on Reddit about a drug company that pulled one of it's drugs from market when it realised the drug was actually better at treating another illness and then marked it up under another name by a couple hundred percent.

Pharmas are ****ed up.

 

[glenimp617]

Brilliant idea

Ignorance is no longer an excuse

 

[Thekwango]

I sometimes think about this or at least to a degree.

It's not a secret some medications / treatments are very, very expensive.

If I was unfortunate enough to rely on expensive medication, that would only pro-long my life, and not cure me, it would make me think. Obviously depends on how long he medication would give me.

If I was costing the NHS 10's of thousands a year just to life a little longer I would probably think 'you know what, put it to better use for someone else'.

That is just my view though.

in fairness that is only likely to be your view as I am assuming you aren't in the situation you talk about above. I'm quite sure someone on medication that was prolonging their life wouldn't really be worrying too much the cost to the NHS (assuming the quality of life was there and even if it wasn't their primary concern is very unlikely to be the cost to the taxpayer/NHS)

 

[russell664]

I don't see a problem with it to be honest.

 

[Maccapacca]

It's been mentioned here already but the whole I've paid in' therefore 'I'm entitled' attitude only for the NHS breeds this wastefulness. People should consider it year on year not that they paid in when it was black and what and in analogue decades ago entitles them to treatment now and going forward.

You don't think that way for car and house insurance or private medical cover so why the NHS?

 

[DampDog]

bad idea..............

if you start recycling drugs this way it only takes for one nutcase to have tampered with the products and someone ends up having an adverse reaction or dying. The manufacturers will take the fall, lawsuits for millions and then before you know it R&D pipelines come to a screaming halt.

There are very tight controls around the distribution or all prescription drugs for a reason and trying to save pennies through recycling unused packs is a timebomb waiting to explode. No sane legislator will ever think this is a good idea and if they did they would need to include massive waivers for industry which will never happen as the pharma industry in Europe is one of the most regulated.

The NHS already runs tenders for its drugs, but the fact remains not all drugs are available as generics. New drugs when they are first released by a branded company have 20 + years patent protection and up to 11 years data exclusivity, which means there will be no generic on the market for at least 11 years after the first launch of a new molecule.

Point taken of the complexities of recycling drugs and the effective earning life of branded pharmaceuticals.

But I wonder just how this "unused waist" is being measured. Are these medications that have simply not been taken or finished completely, or are they medications that are simply discarded?

I would worry that a 'black market' of the expensive good stuff would emerge if the value of certain drugs was common knowledge in some quarters. Likewise if a family member requires on-going possibly lifelong medication letting them know what the bill would be on every prescription doesn't strike me as very sympathetic. It strikes me as a sneaky way of getting everyone used to looking at the bottom line ready for the day when the "Free at the point of use" NHS is replaced by private companies issuing bills.

I'm firmly in the camp of people not taking the NHS for granted and realising it's worth and the expenses involved. This just strikes me as a bit, well thoughtless really.

 

[Cosimo]

I don't have an issue with people seeing how much some of their drugs cost.

 

[Tunney]

Making sick people feel guilty for receiving treatment? What an utterly callous idea.

Maybe every interview with a member of the cabinet should start with a reminder of how much they're costing the tax payer.

 

[wildman]

Point taken of the complexities of recycling drugs and the effective earning life of branded pharmaceuticals.

But I wonder just how this "unused waist" is being measured. Are these medications that have simply not been taken or finished completely, or are they medications that are simply discarded?

I would worry that a 'black market' of the expensive good stuff would emerge if the value of certain drugs was common knowledge in some quarters. Likewise if a family member requires on-going possibly lifelong medication letting them know what the bill would be on every prescription doesn't strike me as very sympathetic. It strike me as a sneaky way of getting everyone used to looking at the bottom line ready for the day when the "Free at the point of use" NHS is replaced by private companies issuing bills.

Black market for counterfeit drugs already exists and is why there is such a glut of legislation around the real deal. There are dedicated divisions within health agencies that fight the counterfeiting of medicines on a daily basis. Actual black marketing of kosher prescription drugs is very hard unless you bust your way into a distribution or manufacturing site and steal a few loads. This is why you will find most production facilities are touting armed guards (outside the UK) and the security around packaging sites based in the UK is extremely high. You'd have more luck breaking into the bank of England than your average Pharma manufacturing site in this day and age.

 

[Rroff]

I remember reading an article on Reddit about a drug company that pulled one of it's drugs from market when it realised the drug was actually better at treating another illness and then marked it up under another name by a couple hundred percent.

Pharmas are ****ed up.

The human race is **** up. If there was ever a situation where we had to come together, work together, for the survival of us all we'd fail so miserably it would be hilarious.