(2) what the average net ingredient cost was for drugs falling within section 4.3 of the British National Formulary in each of the last five years (a) in cash terms and (b) in 2009-10 prices.
The information requested is in the following table.
Net ingredient cost for prescription items dispensed in East and North Hertfordshire PCT1, 2 (£000) Uprated to 2009-10 prices3 Net ingredient cost for prescription items dispensed in England (£000) Uprated to 2009-10 prices3 Average net ingredient cost per prescription item dispensed in England (£) Uprated to 2009-10 prices3 2003 n/a n/a 395,178.0 458,466.2 14.29 16.58 2004 n/a n/a 400,681.7 452,542.2 13.82 15.61 2005 3,375.1 3,735.4 338,546.7 374,684.0 11.52 12.75 2006 2,891.7 3,115.0 291,511.4 314,023.8 9.39 10.12 2007 2,683.7 2,812.5 276,107.6 289,357.3 8.16 8.55 1 Data based on current primary care trust (PCT) structure. The structure changed in October 2006 when North Hertfordshire and Stevenage PCT, Royston, Buntingford and Bishop’s Stortford PCT, South East Hertfordshire PCT and Welwyn Hatfield PCT were incorporated into the new East and North Hertfordshire PCT. 2 PCT level data supplied by the NHS Prescriptions Service is only held for a rolling 60-month period. 3 Based on HM Treasury gross domestic product deflators. Source: Prescription Cost Analysis (PCA) system.
Reports of suspected adverse drug reactions (ADRs) are collected by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) and Commission for Human Medicines (CHM) through the spontaneous reporting scheme; the Yellow Card Scheme. Approximately 20,000-25,000 reports of ADRs are reported to the MHRA/CHM through this scheme each year. The scheme collects ADR reports from across the whole United Kingdom and includes all medicines, including those from prescriptions, over-the-counter or general retail sales. Reports are also received for herbal medicines and other unlicensed medicines.
The following table shows the number of spontaneous UK suspected Adverse Drug Reaction reports received by the MHRA between 1998 and 2008 which (i) had a fatal outcome (ii) resulted in or prolonged hospitalisation.
Year received by MHRA Number of spontaneous UK suspected ADR reports received Number of spontaneous UK suspected ADR reports received with a fatal outcome Number of spontaneous UK suspected ADR reports received which resulted in or prolonged hospitalisation 1998 18,047 520 2,970 1999 18,483 564 3,212 2000 33,147 632 4,060 2001 21,454 648 3,011 2002 17,602 666 3,624 2003 19,215 733 4,380 2004 19,975 859 4,426 2005 21,917 1,015 4,564 2006 22,001 952 4,621 2007 21,761 1,030 4,500 2008 25,424 1,299 4,487
It is important to note that a report of an adverse drug reaction does not necessarily mean that it was caused by the drug. Many factors have to be taken into account in assessing causal relationships including temporal association, the possible contribution of concomitant medication and the underlying disease being treated.