The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 278 No 7436 p95
27 January 2007

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Setback for original pack dispensing hopes

The Government has no plans to encourage prescribers to specify original pack sizes, much to the disappointment of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society.

In nearly 78 per cent of cases, the amount prescribed matches available pack sizes and further encouragement to prescribe in line with original pack sizes will not significantly increase the dispensing of patient packs, according to health minister Lord Hunt.

In a Parliamentary written reply last week, Lord Hunt said that sample statistics from the prescription pricing division of the NHS Business Services Authority show that drugs available in packs of 28 are prescribed in multiples of 28 nearly 78 per cent of the time. He argued that it is unlikely that standard pack sizes will always present the best or most clinically appropriate quantity for every patient.

However, Lord Hunt said that the Government is fully supportive of increasing the use of patient packs and that new services, such as repeat dispensing and medicines use reviews, are giving pharmacists and GPs opportunities to work together and consider the optimum quantities in which medicines should be prescribed for individual patients taking into account patient pack sizes.

He added that the Government had consulted on simplifying reimbursement arrangements for NHS contractors, including measures to promote further original pack dispensing, in 2005 (PJ, 17 September 2005, p329). It is currently considering how to take this forward in the light of responses to that consultation.

The Royal Pharmaceutical Society has been seeking full implementation of original pack dispensing for over a year (PJ, 27 August 2005, p243). David Pruce, director of practice and quality improvement at the Society, commented: “The figures Lord Hunt uses show that for one in five prescriptions pharmacists will have to cut up packs in order to fulfil the prescription properly. To me that is not acceptable.” He added that the number of patients for whom standard pack sizes are not clinically appropriate is probably in the order of about 1 per cent. The Society is disappointed with Lord Hunt’s response and would like to see the Department of Health move swiftly to take forward the proposals it first put forward over a year ago on simplifying reimbursement arrangements. “We will continue to press for this issue to be resolved by the Government,” said Mr Pruce.