The Generic Substitution of Pharmacists Proposed

Sunday, September 10, 2011 7:27 AM Posted by Dr. Moreno

A mixed reaction was given by stakeholders concerning the proposed generic substitution of pharmacists. Many people are mainly worried about the amount of work that the pharmacists already have to deal with and the possible confusion that would be experienced by patients. The PSNC was adamant that these proposals would save vast amounts of money for the NHS.

The department of health, during its consultation on generic pharmacist substitution which ended on the thirtieth of March, put forward three different options:

  1. Take No Action.
  2. Permit generic pharmacists substitution only for a limited percentage of products.
  3. Permit generic pharmacist substitution for any and all branded medications, with the exception of those that have been excluded specifically.

With either the second or the third options, general practitioners would have the ability to opt in or out for their own personal, individual subscriptions. The DH is partial towards the third option, nonetheless they opt out for endorsement, because they feel that this would provide the best balance between clinical requirements and patient safety, practicality and would enable the National Health Service to save a lot of money. The present considerations are not inclusive of dispensing doctors.

The things that concern the DH in the second option include the size of the exemplary list, its relative need for frequent updates in order for it to represent drug and medication developments and the complications that arise with the legal meaning of a generic equivalent. With the third option, approximately forty drugs would eligible for substitution; this would make it much easier to manage the list. This option would centre mainly on the drugs and medications that provided the largest savings and would not need updating on more than four occasions during the year.

Those that choose to prescribe to this would have the option of opting in, thus permitting substitution, or opting out and therefore preventing substitution. These prescribers would be able to either show their chosen course of action by using an electronic tick box on the prescription or via an endorsement next to each item.