To think the NHS should tell us the cost of medication

[glenthebattleostrich]

Just been talking to / whining at DH about how I need to order a new inhalor before Christmas but my app won't let me before 25 Dec. Then got onto the cost of prescriptions and wasted medication (I know, bet you wish you were here!)

Out of interest I googled the cost of my inhalor and the one my doctor tried to switch me too (can't use dry powder as it makes my asthma worse for some reason).

My symbicort costs about £38 and my salbutamol £12 to buy. Suddenly i feel better about prescription charges (still annoying that some parts of the UK don't pay or certain conditions get all meds free others dont, bit that's a different thread).

Anyways, after all that waffle, AIBU to think we should be told how much it would cost us to buy medication? I'd be more appreciative of the savings / consider how much I need it and would be less likely to waste medication.

Typical- googled the cost of my drugs and wouldn't you know, I happen to be on some of the few drugs that cost less than the prescription charge. With the exception of 1 drug, my total monthly cost is less than my monthly PPC. At least they're making money somewhere

Nor should you feel guilty WannaBe. We all pay for the NHS and you used it as its intended.

That's interesting on the costs being higher than other countries Hoops, I didn't know that and it's definitely something that should be looked into.

I think we should know,

I am much more careful with my brown inhaler now I know, and understand why they only give me and DCs one at a time.

Getting more than we need and letting it get out of date etc- all can be reduced if people understand the true cost.

I'm appalled that the English NHS texts people to say how much the appointments cost. What is the point of that, do you think? It's not as if they're asking you to pay it (yet) so what's behind it?

I have a b12 injection which cost prescription charge but to buy from Germany inc postage costs 68p

We worked out that having our twins in NICU for 16 weeks following an extremely early birth cost over £500,000.

One of their meds they currently take is about £500 per month, each. They'll be on that particular medication for at least another year.

I have no idea how much their oxygen prescription costs the NHS, especially with the next day delivery service etc we have.

alba it's an unfortunate fact that if they couldn't profit from the drugs, they wouldn't put the research in and develop them... generics are cheap because you're paying the manufacturing etc costs, but someone had to develop the drug in the first place and they had to have an incentive to look into it, and that is what costs.

Not that I buy all the big pharma conspiracies because if there were an easily available effective alternative, the NHS would be recommending it!

Drugs or rather drug development costs are very high and sometimes are a real gamble, there was one rather promising on that fell over at the last testing phase and that must have cost many ££ million's to get that far.

They are now going to have to spend a mint to find any new antibiotics as the ones we have have are now getting ineffectual against many bacteria.

Those little beggars will cost us dear;(

Bonkerz I suppose that by paying extra, you are subsidising the cost for those who wouldn't be able to afford their medicines if they were charged the retail cost.

It's a bit rubbish that asthma is the only illness that can kill you where you have to pay for your meds.

thefairyfellersmasterstroke The NHS texts people because of that fact that many appointments are not kept over the course of a year wasting valuable time and resources.

Completely agree re the paracetamol and other similar medication that is cheap to buy.

My DM gets paracetamol on prescription. She takes 4-8 a day and, as you can only buy 32 at a time over the counter, there is no choice but to get them on prescription. She can't get out to get them and I can't guarantee being able to get them when she needs them. Personally I think the GP should be able to write a letter to give to the pharmacist so anyone who needs regular paracetamol can buy 100 at a time (this is what DM is prescribed) and pay for them.

Do people really request certain brands of medication? Why the fuck do they care?

DM has glaucoma and her eye drops were changed to a generic brand and her eyes got worse. She saw a different doctor who put her back on the original branded ones and the glaucoma stabilised again. He said that, although the two drops were supposedly identical, he had seen a lot of people who got worse on the generic one. DM now has to request the branded version.

thefairy it's to encourage people to call and cancel with a decent timeframe if you're unable to make it, so they can offer the slot to someone else and avoid wasting money. I think that's totally reasonable and completely different to pointing out how much meds cost.

You wouldn't buy a homeless person a hot meal and then say "feel free to eat it mate, but just to let you know, that cost me £8"

I have a lot of appointments due to various issues. I get a text and it tells me how much the appointment costs. Because of the amount of appointments I need, it's into the thousands now together with the various meds I take. I've paid my tax for 15 years but I feel like a burden. Like there are people worse than me where the money could be used better.

I take daily medication for my BP that costs me 8.40 a month. I have no objection to paying it, and am happy to do so but the stress of getting it every month is half the reason I'm on the bloody stuff. You can't order more than 4 days before you run out, and now our GP's pharmacy doesn't stock anything, it takes 3 full working days to get in. Online ordering often doesn't go through to their system so you have to do it twice. So I regularly go 2 or 3 days without it and generally feel off colour, especially if it's over a weekend. But people who order paracetamol, antihistamines, calpol, emollient etc when it's cheap to get from a pharmacy really p**s me off to be honest. Why should the NHS pay for a drug that costs 25p in a supermarket?!?!

Of course an NHS patient isn't the equvilent in that analogy since we all pay into the pot and nothing is really free.

I looked up epiduo once-$250 on ebay?? What even! I'm relieved if my meds aren't too dear, personally, and am firmly in the "prefer not to know" club.

But people who order paracetamol, antihistamines, calpol, emollient etc when it's cheap to get from a pharmacy really ps me off to be honest. Why should the NHS pay for a drug that costs 25p in a supermarket?!?!

Because you can't buy enough over the counter in one go!

If you've been prescibed prescription medication you actually need, why tell someone what it costs.

I used to have asthma in my youth: you've gotta have your inhalers. What would it add to tell you how much they cost? You still need them. The cost of emergency treatment if you were to stop using them would be far more.

I think they should cramp down on non prescription medication being prescribed and people made to buy it. People who are on free prescriptions do it as they dont have to pay. For me buying non prescription meds over the counter is cheaper than the prescription charge.

I once stood in a queue to check in for a GP appt and a guy was having a hissy fit with the receptionist about his prescription not being ready. The receptionist was telling him no prescription had been done as it wasnt a prescription item and had never been authorised for him as one. He went on about it and on about it until the receptionist agreed to talk to the Dr. He named the item he wanted: Gaviscon. It can be bought in any shop. Why pay a prescription charge for it when you can buy it cheaper in the shop?. Most likely he was on free prescriptions and didnt want to pay for it himself.

It is this they need to clamp down on, not prescription only meds people actually have to have.

goingtobeawesome not necessarily, a lot of chronic illnesses have the potential to kill if not treated effectively, and people still have to pay for their meds.

For example if I didn't have my Crohn's meds there is the potential for bowel rupturing or something. Or there's anaphylaxis.

YANBU OP, though I think it should only be available on request for reasons mentioned.

I ask the pharmacist about the cost of medicines, and with that knowledge I've managed my condition differently - using a cheaper method of administering medicine over the more expensive, putting up with very minor side effects when the GP would have happily prescribed me one 10x the cost without the effects.

It also takes away any resentment I might feel at paying tax and NI. Since I have a chronic condition, I'm still 'quids in' after paying everything...

And it makes me hugely grateful for the NHS.

Do people really request certain brands of medication? Why the fuck do they care?

Because one brand controls my illness, the generic brand does not - as with 20% of the people with the same condition as me.

Likewise with a second med I take - the sugar coated tablets just do not work for me at all (actually they make me much worse). Where as the plain white ones work perfectly - similar prices but made my different companies and whilst they have the same amount of the key ingredients it is absorbed differently. The effect is huge.

On the subject of Gaviscon, it's £10.99 in my local chemist and I can easily get through a couple of bottles a month so I can understand someone requesting it on prescription. I buy it in Sainsburys where it's cheaper but it's not always possible for people to get to the supermarket.

Thank you to those who responded positively.

I also want to say that I get paracetamol on prescription (which I don't pay for). It is not possible for me to physically purchase 224 paracetamol caplets each month. This way, I only have to get to the chemist once a month.

Wow! I had no idea. Sorry. Every day's a learning day