Question
Drug pricing in the UK – comments on an article written by i-Base
27 May 2011. Related: Access to treatment, All topics.
‘Drug prices are not fixed in the UK’ (Baseline Summer 2011 issue 8, p. 44).
Is this because of the ‘internal market’ mechanism that was introduced by the Thatcher government in the 1980s (I think) or is it due to some other reason?
Answer
Drug prices are not fixed in the UK because the vast proportion of prescription medicines used in the UK are purchased by the government. This is done though the NHS which has an agreement on pricing (the PPRS) with the major pharmaceutical companies who supply it.
There remains ongoing debate as to whether this mechanism ensures the best prices for the NHS or not.
The internal market introduced under the Thatcher government related to the cost of supplying services, not medicines, within the different branches of the NHS.
For more information please follow this link.
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