Prescription charges condemned
Britain’s prescription charge system is condemned as illogical and unfair in a new report from the Royal Pharmaceutical Society.
The report considers the role and impact of prescription charges in a
national health service based on the principle that health care should
be free at the point of use. It sets out a framework for policy on prescription
charges and reviews the international evidence on prescription charges
and co-payments. It also considers alternatives to the current system
of charges and sets out the Society’s view as to what should happen
next.
The policy framework considers the impact of prescription charges from
four perspectives: individuals, as users of medicines and as actual or
potential self-carers; government, as health/health service financier
and policymaker; professionals, as prescribers and/or dispensers of medicines;
and the pharmaceutical industry, as the supplier of prescription medicines.
The report confirms the stance taken by the Society’s Council at
its June 2004 meeting, that the current system of prescription charges
and exemptions is illogical and unfair. There have been widespread calls
for radical reform or abolition, and in Wales a phased abolition of the
charges is already under way, but the impact of major change to the current
system may be considerable and should not be considered without careful
analysis of the consequences for patients, government, professionals
and the pharmaceutical industry.
Eileen Neilson, the Society’s head of policy development, said: “We
have now conducted a comprehensive review of the international evidence
on prescription charges and co-payments, and the conclusion is clear:
charges do not just deter unnecessary use of medicines; they also deter
essential use of medicines in people with non-exempt chronic conditions.
That has adverse consequences for their health and for costs elsewhere
in health systems, such as unplanned hospital admissions. Unnecessary
use of prescription medicines is better tackled through measures to improve
prescribing.
“Abolition of prescription charges requires careful planning and
implementation to avoid destabilising general practice and community
pharmacy and undermining
minor ailments schemes and reclassifications of medicines. Other alternatives
to the present system could be considered.
“We are also calling on governments to undertake research into
the impact of prescription charges on people with non-exempt long-term
conditions,
as part of strategies to improve their care and health outcomes.
“In Wales the Society is engaged with the Welsh Assembly to discuss
the implementation and impact of their policy on prescription charges.
We
are working to highlight the practical issues round the implementation
and to ensure that they are addressed.
“This is a substantial piece of work that will inform the current
debates. We look forward to working with the Health Departments to develop
policies
that provide more equitable access to medicines within the NHS.”
“Prescription charges: should they be abolished?” is available
on the Society’s website.
Further information is available from Karen Turnham (tel 020 7572 2218;
e-mail karen.turnham@rpsgb.org |
The
Pharmaceutical Journal