The PDA and Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) are both members of the PCC, a group of 51 organisations calling on the government to scrap prescription charges for people with long-term conditions in England.
The coalition is made up primarily of patient organisations representing those who require medicines to be prescribed because of their long-term medical conditions. All members of the coalition understand that if patients in England cannot afford their prescriptions, the consequences of individuals not receiving their prescribed medicines can increase costs for the NHS because their health may deteriorate as a result.
For example, research published in May 2018 by the York Health Economics Consortium (YHEC) found that abolishing prescription charges for people with just two of the long-term conditions represented in the coalition – Inflammatory Bowel Disease (Crohn’s Disease and Ulcerative Colitis) and Parkinson’s – would save the NHS over £20 million a year.
Examples reported by pharmacists include patients refusing to take prescriptions for stomach protection, such as Omeprazole or Lansoprazole, when prescribed in conjunction with strong anti-inflammatory tablets such as Naproxen, which can lead to an increased risk of developing a stomach ulcer.
There have also been reports of patients with asthma, a long-term respiratory condition, refusing steroid inhalers due to cost and rationing their reliever inhalers instead, despite the advice of the pharmacist. This has a considerable effect on their long-term health.
As part of its ongoing support for the coalition, the PDA is asking pharmacists about their experience of patients partially or fully declining to have prescriptions dispensed because of the cost.
Members who have practiced in England within the last 12 months are asked to please complete the below survey by Sunday 28 January.
Learn more
- PDA shares resources for patients that want to lobby their MP about prescription charges
- Changes to prescription charge exemptions
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