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Tuesday, August 2nd, 2005
The call in the report by Audit Scotland for improvements to medicines
management in hospitals has been welcomed by the Association of
the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI) Scotland, although it
warned that this must not be interpreted as a way of preventing
patients from receiving the most modern, innovative medicines.
Audit Scotland's report calls on Scottish NHS boards to improve
their control over the amount of money spent on hospital medicine
by the improved use of information technology to improve cost effectiveness
and reduce the risk of errors. This recommendation is endorsed by
the Scottish-based pharmaceutical industry.
"However, it would be quite wrong if this call to improve the
efficiency of the system were seen as an excuse to cut spending
on modern medicines in the mistaken notion that cost-effective treatment
means cheap," said Jim Eadie, Director of ABPI Scotland.
"Doctors and clinicians should continue to be free to prescribe
in the best interest of their patient, not in the interests of false
economy - after all, a medicine that works better and has fewer
side-effects is often effectively 'cheaper' than one that costs
less.
ABPI Scotland also welcomed the recommendation that NHS staff should
have access to current, reliable information and expert advice to
make the best use of medicines, particularly in the case of more
complex medicines.
"The pharmaceutical industry has an excellent track record
of working in partnership with NHSScotland in a wide range of projects
aimed at treating patients more effectively. We will be very happy
to develop such schemes still further," said Mr Eadie.
Audit Scotland also urged hospitals to take steps to anticipate
the cost of new medicines, and this call was endorsed by ABPI Scotland.
"We already engage with NHSScotland on 'horizon-scanning' for
new products, and the industry would be very happy to discuss how
this could be further developed," Mr Eadie said.
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