‘Low value’ items which can be bought over-the-counter may no longer be available by prescription following an upcoming review by NHS England.
Seeking to save potentially £400 million per year, NHS Clinical Commissioners have identified ‘significant areas’ where public funding is lost to certain items through prescription.
A review by NHS England in April will look to provide guidance for Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) over which items they deem cannot be justifiably prescribed when the money might be spent on ‘care which has a bigger impact on improving outcomes for patients’.
An NHS England spokesperson: ‘New guidelines will advise CCGs on the commissioning of medicines generally assessed as low priority and will provide support to clinical commissioning groups, prescribers and dispensers.
‘The increasing demand for prescriptions for medication that can be bought over the counter at relatively low cost, often for self-limiting or minor conditions, underlines the need for all healthcare professionals to work even closer with patients to ensure the best possible value from NHS resources, while eliminating wastage and improving patient outcomes.’
NHS England will work with clinicians and clinical commissioning groups to develop guidelines initially around a set of 10 medicines which are ‘ineffective, unnecessary, inappropriate for prescription on the NHS, or indeed unsafe’, which together cost the NHS £128m per year. In developing the guidance, the views of patient groups, clinicians, commissioners and providers across the NHS will be sought.
Several other items of ‘low clinical value or priority’ will be removed from prescription, including treatment for coughs and colds, antihistamines, indigestion, heartburn medication and sun cream.