Health chiefs bid to cut cost of prescriptions

ANGUS health chiefs are looking to cut the cost of chronic pain prescriptions.

The Angus Health and Social Care Partnership is braced for a £1.9 million overspend this year, with one of the main reasons being a local prescribing bill that was about 10% above the national average in September last year, rising to about 12% in May.

A meeting of the Angus integrated joint board (IJB) heard the wider Tayside cost is running at about 9.4%.

A new “prescribing formulary” to standardise what medicines are given for ailments was launched in Tayside in April.

Angus Partnership clinical director Dr Alison Clement said Angus i s spending “considerably more” than other partnership areas.

“We are limited by the resources we have,” she said.

“General practice and pharmacy are both under considerable strain.”

The IJB discussed a report by Dr Clement and primary care manager Rhona Guild, which said the reasons for the higher “family health” spend in Tayside and in Angus are “complex and multifaceted”.

The report added: “It is in part due to higher than average prevalence of a variety of chronic diseases and the regional adoption of clinical pathways aimed at providing patients with the best possible care.

“There is evidence to support that investing in prescribing for some care pathways reduces mortality and morbidity and provide good examples of positive variation and reduced spend in other parts of the system.

“There are, however, a number of areas of unexplained variation which are undergoing further investigation and action.”