Spending rates for dementia drugs still vary
Spending on anti-dementia drugs continues to vary across the UK despite national guidance on the use of these medicines.
A survey conducted by Pfizer, which co-markets Aricept (donepezil), has
revealed that some areas of the UK are spending £8 or more per
head of the local population aged over 65 years while others are spending
less than £2.
Statisticians looked at how much money was spent on three anti-Alzheimer’s
drugs — donepezil, rivastigmine (Exelon) and galantamine (Reminyl) — in
1999 and in 2002–03. They found that although overall spending
rose, there were wide variations in spending among different geographical
areas.
In 2002–03, total spending on these three drugs by Thames Valley
Strategic Health Authority (population over 65 years 311,085) was £484,819.
This was almost half that for similar sized West Yorkshire SHA (population
over 65 years 312,697) which spent £878,651.
The researchers acknowledge that looking at prescribing data, rather
than the amounts spent on these drugs, would more accurately reflect
usage and access.
Pfizer says that the SHAs and health boards whose primary care trusts
are spending least on these drugs are Thames Valley, Birmingham and the
Black Country, Shropshire and Staffordshire, Leicestershire, Northampton
and Rutland, County Durham and Tees Valley, Lothian, Bro Taf and Icheyd
Morgannwg.
A spokesman for Lothian NHS Board said he had reservations about the
methodology used in the study which called into question the validity
of the findings.
Data from the survey were presented at the National Institute for Clinical
Excellence annual conference held in Birmingham last month.
Guidance on the use of anti-dementia drugs was issued to the NHS in England
and Wales by NICE in January 2001. |
