THE INEXORABLE RISE IN THE UK NHS DRUGS BILL: RECENT POLICIES, FUTURE PROSPECTS |
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Authors: | ALAN EARL-SLATER COLIN BRADLEY |
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Institution: | Alan Earl-Slater is a Research Fellow in the Health Services Management Centre;Colin Bradley is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of General Practice, both at the University of Birmingham. |
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Abstract: | The UK National Health Service drugs bill has been the subject of controversy since the inception of the nhs . This article identifies the growth in the drugs bill and explores some of the factors driving the bill upward. The conclusions of this article are: that the drugs bill will continue to remain high on the political agenda; the government has only a limited amount of control on the drugs bill; various policies may counteract rather than complement each other; some of the policies may actually increase the drugs bill; however, many of the effects of the policies are unknown and there has been no rigorous assessment of the effects of any of the policies since 1948; and finally there is no robust evidence to suggest the drugs bill either does or does not represent good value for money. |
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