Kate O'Connell (Dublin Bay South, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

With regard to the Versatis patch, over 90% of applications are being rejected on appeal. That is what I am told at home. The issue is that it has been licensed for use to treat post-shingles pain. In the past five years I have seen us go from having one box on the shelf to 20. It was being used for literally everything and there is a huge cost. I think the Minister said it was the second highest pull on the reimbursement budget. Someone said it. It is at the top cost-wise. The issue with which we have to deal involves the patient who has been using it for five months to treat back pain and then lands into a pharmacy with his or her medical card only to be told it is going to cost, I think, a couple of hundred euro a box. The issue is that someone might be without an alternative during the approval period. While it is fine for the HSE to tell us stories about the price and the reasoning when it is drawing up its briefing note, what we are looking for is a solution for patients. On the ground, the prescription is being run off by the GP; the pharmacist says the patient cannot have it; the approval process starts and there is a gap in treatment for the patient. A worry is being put on the patient because of the price of the product. When the HSE is preparing its briefing, I would appreciate it if that element for the patient is covered.