The full costs of drug treatment by GPs have not been estimated.
For GPs who normally treat less complex clients the cost of the prescribing component of the treatment is currently about £1,000 per patient per episode.
For GPs who have trained to become addiction specialists and treat more complex clients the cost the prescribing component of treatment is currently about £1,800 per patient per episode.
These figures do not represent the full annual cost of treating a patient. Treatment for drug misusers is not just about prescribing, it is a package of care planned treatment including the support of a keyworker, other psycho-social interventions and can include supervised consumption of substitute drags. GP’s may provide one or more components of a comprehensive package, which involves other providers of specialist treatment.