Scheme Criticised for Using Incentives for GPs to Reduce Money on Medicines - the Potential Impact on Patients
GPs in Oxfordshire have been incentivised to reduce the amount of medicines being prescribed to the elderly in care homes, according to Pulse magazine.
They have been told that they would receive half of the money saved by issuing fewer prescriptions. The aim is to save over one million pounds - or £2 per patient.
The scheme has been criticised by Patient Concern. Joyce Robbins, representing the patient group, said: "You would like to think patient care was their main priority, not cost savings."
Dr Andrew Green, the head of GP clinical work and prescriptions at the British Medical Association, backed this up, saying: "It might well be that the result is cutting costs, but that mustn't be the aim. The aims must be to get appropriate care to the right patient."
Meanwhile, the Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Local Medical Committee has advised GPs not to agree to the scheme. It has advocated focusing on improving patient care rather than simply reducing costs.
NHS commissioners in Oxfordshire were concerned that taking multiple drugs for different conditions could cause many problems, such as side effects, non-adherence and waste.
This is off the back of comments from Keith Ridge, the Chief Pharmaceutical Officer at NHS England, who said last year that 20% of medicines prescribed to elderly people in care homes were pointless.
Comment
It is important that money is spent efficiently in the NHS and not wasted. However, this story sounds more like a further target of cutting the drugs budget, regardless of the impact on patient care.