Abstract
Concern about the size of the NHS drugs bill in the UK has resulted in three main policy initiatives by government: regular increases in prescription charges, the introduction of restrictions on the range of prescribable drugs, and the implementation of prescribing budgets. This paper argues that such policies, whilst reducing the NHS drugs bill, have given little consideration to the efficiency of prescribing. Other policy options are considered which may reduce the NHS drugs bill in ways more consistent with efficient prescribing.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 25-38 |
| Number of pages | 14 |
| Journal | Health Policy |
| Volume | 25 |
| Issue number | 1-2 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - Sept 1993 |
Funding
We are grateful to our colleagues at the Health Economics Research Unit (HERU) for comments on previous drafts of this paper. HERU is funded by the Chief Scientist Office of the Scottish Office Home and Health Department (SOHHD). However, all views expressed in this paper are those of the authors, not the SOHHD.
Keywords
- Economics
- Efficiency
- Incentives
- Prescribing