NPA welcomes UK cancer Rx exemptions

Responding to a UK government anouncement that cancer patients in England would no longer be eligible for prescription charges, National  Pharmacy Association chief executive John Turk commented: "the NPA has  long argued for a simpler and fairer system for patients. Medicines are  core to the treatment of most long-term conditions, and we do not wish  anyone to be deterred from accessing vital medication on grounds of  cost."

Mr Turk added: "people with long-term conditions should not have to rely  on savings in the drugs budget to finance any changes resulting from the  review. However, we hope that there will now be a renewed focus on  reducing medicines waste and more effective medicines use, in particular  through the roll-out of repeat dispensing and pharmacy-based concordance  schemes."