Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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Question 68: To ask the Minister for Health and Children her estimate of the percentage of prescribed medicines used under the various public drug payment schemes which are generic products; and if she will introduce a protocol whereby there would be a presumption that generic products would be used unless specific reasons were given to the contrary by the prescribing doctor. [27820/07]

Mary Harney (Dublin Mid West, Progressive Democrats)
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My Department has requested the HSE to provide an estimate of the percentage of the total medicine items dispensed under the various public drug payment schemes which are generic products. Not all products are substitutable with generic alternatives. Where a generic substitutable is available, my Department has been informed by the HSE that for 2006, the latest year available, the percentages of generic medicines used in relation to medicinal products that have a generic comparator, for reimbursed items, are as follows:

GMS (medical card) Scheme — 58.7%

Drug Payment Scheme — 57.6%

Long Term Illness Scheme — 54.1%

European Economic Area Scheme — 58.1%

These percentages relate to non-proprietary products (branded and non-branded generics) which have generic alternatives, for each scheme. Because it deals with specific illnesses or conditions, the Long Term Illness (LTI) Scheme covers a more limited range of medicines than the other schemes.

The 2006 Irish Pharmaceutical Healthcare Association (IPHA) Agreement, negotiated by the HSE and my Department with the manufacturing sector, provides for significant reductions in the price of patent-expired proprietary medicines. These reductions (20% in March this year and a further 15% in January 2009) will, on full implementation, largely remove the current premium paid for these products over many branded and non-branded generic equivalents. Accordingly, a system of compulsory generic substitution in the pharmacy, as used in some other jurisdictions, would have significantly less benefit in the Irish community schemes than in other countries but could, given the relative size of the Irish market, have an adverse effect on continuity and security of supply for Irish patients.

Generic drugs are widely available in the Irish market, particularly in the hospital sector. Use of a proprietary or a generic equivalent is a matter for the prescriber, in consultation with the patient. One of the objectives of the IPHA agreement is to enhance the ability of patients to have a greater say in the prescribing process with a view to choosing, in consultation with the prescriber, the medicine that best meets their needs and delivers best value for money.