Switching patients to more cost-effective drugs for cholesterol and blood pressure problems could reduce health budgets by billions without compromising clinical care, according to a study in the January issue of IJCP, the International Journal of Clinical Practice. No adverse events were reported after patients were switched — the new cholesterol drugs delivered the same results as the previous drug and the new blood pressure drugs delivered improved performance.
A research team led by Juliet Usher-Smith from the University of Cambridge, and Professor Mike Kirby from The Hertfordshire Primary Care Research Network looked at the clinical and financial implications of switching 185 patients at a family doctors’ practice to more cost-effective drugs.
The switch, at the practice in Hertfordshire, UK, was carried out at the request of the local Primary Care Trust, which funds family doctors in the area.
No adverse events were reported by either patient group and the researchers argue that if the ?26,000 annual savings were replicated elsewhere in the UK, the cost savings would be significant.
“In this study the generic drug simvastastin replaced low dose atorvastastin for high cholesterol treatment and candesartan replaced losartan for treating high blood pressure” explains Juliet Usher-Smith.
“Four months after the switch the cholesterol lowering drug was performing in line with the previous drug and the new blood pressure drug had actually resulted in a small, but significant, reduction in blood pressure.”
Patients were only switched to alternative drugs after careful screening by both the practice pharmacist and doctors to ensure that there were no clinical reasons why this shouldn’t be done. All patients were informed of the plans before new prescriptions were issued, either by letter or at regular check-ups.
The January issue of IJCP also includes two editorials on the paper.
“No healthcare system can afford to countenance the haemorrhaging of public funds on this scale” says Dr Rubin Minhas, a family doctor from Kent, who points out that the UK’s National Health Service is facing one of the biggest overspends in its history.