Dr. Susan O'Dwyer:

There are structures in place at present for medicines to be interchanged. The HSE has an interchangeable list for certain medications. There is a range of medications on the list and pharmacists are obliged under legislation to supply the cheapest unless there are specific instructions on the prescription from the prescriber to, for example, supply the original brand. If we look at the types of medications that are being used, they are becoming more complex. There are many so-called high-tech medications and more and more of them are becoming available. In that interchangeable space, there can be substitution of the original branded product for what we could call a "biosimilar". Pharmacists could probably be facilitated to do more in that space to help with the cost that is only going to get higher in the coming years.