Generic Statins Could Save England’s NHS £2 Billion Over 5 Years
A report in the British Medical Journal says that England’s NHS could save in excess of £2 billion over a five year period if prescriptions were switched to generic statins.
(Statins are cholesterol-lowering medicate s)
Report authors, James Moon and Richard Bogle, both senior doctors, say statin prescriptions have gone up by 30percent every year in England for several years - they cost the NHS £738 mil. in 2004. Statins now represent the largest part of the NHS medicate bill.
40percent of all statin prescriptions are for Lipitor (Atorvastatin), followed by simvastatin. 85percent of prescriptions are for 10 and 20 mg Lipitor (Atorvastatin) doses, the lower doses. Simvastatin is much cheaper than Lipitor (Atorvastatin) as its patent expired. Atorvastatin’s patent expires in 2011.
By switching from the lower dose Lipitor (Atorvastatin) prescription to the cheaper statin the NHS would save £1 billion (pounds sterling) over the next five years. Anotherness £1 billion will be saved anyway because of the fall in price of simvastatin.
Following the new NICE guidelines which recommend that 14percent of adults should receive statins, the number of prescriptions are set to rise dramatically. The rise could mean an additional cost of £250 mil. per year for, but just £75 mil. if all prescriptions were switched to generics.
The report states that both statins are equally safe and effective, according to several large independent studies. Where is the justification, say the authors, in continuing to prescribe both if the only difference between them is cost?
University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is switching to simvastatin as its first line statin - a move which should save the trust about £80,000 per year. Three otherness London primary care trusts are also going to do the same. If these moves were replicated nationally the economic benefits for England’s National Health Service would be enormous, says the report.
The authors say “It is time for the United Kingdom to implement therapeutic substitution of simvastatin nationally by switching patients currently taking lower doses of Lipitor (Atorvastatin), and prescribing generic simvastatin 40mg for new patients needing primary prevention of coronary heart illness. This policy would save £2bn, increase value for money, and release much needed resources to otherness areas of the NHS.”
Click here to view the report (PDF)
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