Written question asked by Lord Lester of Herne Hill (Liberal Democrat) on Monday, 27 October 2014, in the House of Lords. It was due for an answer on Monday, 10 November 2014. It was answered by Earl Howe (Conservative) on Monday, 10 November 2014 on behalf of the Department of Health.
NHS: Drugs
- Question
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To ask Her Majesty’s Government what safeguards exist to ensure that the pricing of "specials" drugs prescribed within the National Health Service is consistent and non-discriminatory, including when prescribed by general practitioners.
- Answer
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The Drug Tariff sets out what National Health Service dispensing contractors will be paid for the products supplied as part of providing pharmaceutical services and the fees for providing those services in primary care.
The current arrangements in the Drug Tariff for paying for specials were introduced in 2011. The Drug Tariff sets the price that the NHS pays to dispensing contractors for dispensing some of the most popular specials. Setting a reimbursement price encourages dispensing contractors to obtain best value for the NHS while also ensuring patients received the medicines they need, when they need them. The products listed and their reimbursement prices are agreed with the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee and reviewed regularly. However, due to the number of specials that can potentially be prescribed, it is not possible to list a reimbursement price for all available specials.
Where the reimbursement price of a product has not been set, dispensing contractors are paid according to how the product is sourced. Where a dispensing contractor buys the product from a specials manufacturer or an importer, they must claim the invoice price of the pack size used to dispense the product minus any discounts or rebates received.
NHS England is responsible for commissioning pharmaceutical services in primary care and it is for NHS England to consider whether dispensing contractors have acted appropriately. In addition, the General Pharmaceutical Council is responsible for regulating the pharmacy professions should there be any concerns of professional misconduct.
Many hospital pharmacies manufacture their own specials on the premises. Any procurement of unlicensed medicines via framework agreements for the use of NHS secondary care establishments in England is undertaken through tenders governed by the Public Contracts Regulations (2006), as amended, which require the procurement to be conducted in a transparent and equitable manner.
Secondary information
- Type
- Written question
- Reference
- HL2433
- Session
- 2014-15
- Subjects
- Drugs NHS Prices
- Link
- View this Written question on www.parliament.uk
Librarians' tools
- Timestamp
- 2015-05-22 05:51:33 +0100
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