Medicines/NHS

[MBM]

How and why can a medicine e.g. 30x20g pack of fluoxetine from a so called generic brand cost the NHS �1.60 and the patient �6 plus (prescription charge)?
And, how come Prozac the actual brand costs �14.21 for the same quantity - but an NHS patient is not allowed to have it - and cannot offer to pay the difference even if they are prepared to because they will be refused?

[pie+mash]

Cannot answer your second Q, MBM, but with reference to the first, I think it must be the old swings and roundabouts scenario. A woman I worked with was on a certain medication, which apparently cost the NHS �30 for 1 months treatment, but she only paid the �4+ prescription fee.

My (previous) GP would always tell me if it was cheaper for me to buy the suggested medicine etc over the counter, instead of through a prescription from him. Of course that was for limited types of treatment, not the ones only available through a prescription because of their content.

[JamesEverton]

Why would you want to pay more than twice as much to get the branded drug?

[MBM]

I would pay more for the branded drug because the alternatives give me headaches and make me feel wierd.

[Ethel]

I have been on Prozac/Fluoxetine for years and cannot tell the difference between the two.

You can ask your GP for a private prescription - but you may be charged more than �14.21.

One tablet I take costs the NHS �15 for one. I know other drugs are far more expensive than that - some costing thousands of pounds per year per patient.

[MBM]

Unfortunately - I do notice the difference. I don't want to pay for the brand purely for the sake of having the original branded product. I guess a private prescription is probably the answer - unless I find a natural alternative. I'm not on any other medication and this was prescibed for stress and anxiety.