Public drug expenditure in the Republic of Ireland

In Ireland, expenditure on medicines in the community has increased over sixfold from 300 million euro in 1998 to 1.9 billion euro in 2008. The Health Service Executive has examined all aspects of the drugs supply chain in an attempt to obtain value for money. The 2006 agreement between the Health Service Executive and the Irish Pharmaceutical Healthcare Association resulted in a 35% reduction in the price of patent-expired medicines with estimated savings of 248 million euro. The agreement has been extended to 2012 providing a further 40% price reduction for those off-patent products. Reductions in wholesaler margins and pharmacy reimbursement will provide savings of 130 million euro per annum. Patient co-payment under the Drugs Payment Scheme increased to 120 euro per month and a new co-payment for medical card holders is to be introduced. Since September 2009, all new pharmaceutical products are considered for pharmacoeconomic assessment. Generic substitution and reference pricing are to be introduced in 2011.