Government promotes private access to Tamiflu
pharmafile | December 8, 2003 | News story | Sales and Marketing |Â Â Â
The government has proposed making Roche's flu drug Tamiflu available to more patients through a private prescription from their GP.
The Department of Health has launched a six week consultation on the drug's proposed inclusion on the so called Schedule 11 or 'grey list' which will allow GPs to offer private prescriptions, a decision which it says will encourage greater engagement from patients in their healthcare.
Health minister Lord Warner said: "These proposals will mean that all patients can choose oseltamivir [Tamiflu] if they consider it is the right treatment for them. Making medicines more widely available is another important part of encouraging patients to manage their own healthcare."
The move is another strong indicator of the government's determination to liberalise access to medicines and break up the GP's traditional strict control over prescribing. In November, health secretary John Reid unveiled plans to allow patients to buy the cholesterol lowering drug Zocor over the counter under the supervision of pharmacists, a revolutionary move which could be in place as early as next summer.
In February this year NICE recommended that Tamiflu and GSK's rival treatment Relenza should be prescribed only to 'at risk' groups. It followed this up in September with guidance recommending only Tamiflu for the treatment of post-exposure prophylaxis.
The new proposals would mean 'otherwise healthy' patients would also gain access to the drug, but would ensure that the government would not have to pay for the extra cost.
European laws on greater transparency oblige the government to notify the European Commission of the plans and the DoH has cited UK laws allowing access to certain medicines to be controlled because of their impact on the overall prescribing budget.
The UK has escaped severe flu epidemics over the last two years, with the government's drive to promote vaccinations in at risk groups taking some of the credit.
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