End this waste - HSE drugs budget

The discussion about replacing expensive medicines with cheaper alternatives seems to have dragged on for years. However, just yesterday the head of the National Centre for Pharmacoeconomics warned that the HSE “must take seriously” the need to prescribe cheaper alternatives.

Professor Michael Barry, clinical director of the NCP, said progress has been slow since the Department of Health launched a consultation process last year on the use of generic biologics known as biosimilars that have proved effective in the treatment of chronic conditions like arthritis.