More Tariff price cuts planned
Plans to cut the Drug Tariff price of many dressings and chemical reagents have been announced by the Department of Health. The changes will apply to England and Wales.
The cuts have been proposed following last year’s consultation
(PDF 210K) on possible changes to the arrangements for providing dressings,
incontinence appliances, stoma appliances, chemical reagents and other
appliances
in both primary and secondary care (PJ, 29 October 2005, p538).
Overall, annual spending on dressings in primary care is to be cut by £6m
to £133m and spending on reagents is to be cut by £19m to £109m.
The planned cuts are open for consultation until 6 June.
The DoH has justified the proposed cuts on the grounds that the NHS and
the taxpayer are not getting value for money at current prices. It says
that the clearest indication of this is the difference between the current
Drug Tariff prices of these products and the prices paid for them in
secondary care.
A Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee spokeswoman said: “We
are awaiting more detailed information on the proposals before commenting.”
Further consultation (PDF 90K) with industry and patient groups is planned
to try to identify the cost of incontinence and stoma appliances, and
associated
services, and to ensure fair remuneration for contractors who provide
services that patients value. |
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