Scotland told not to allow Rx top ups

Bowel Cancer UK, a registered charity, has told the Scottish government it should not allow patients who are denied prescription drugs by the National Health Service to pay for them out of their own pocket. Ian Beaumont, the communications director for the group, claimed that "any move towards a co-payments system in Scotland, however well-intentioned, will have a negative effect on patients." Nevertheless, the group also stated that the existing methodology used by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) to determine which drugs should be available to patients outside Scotland was flawed and should allow more patient access to new therapies.

The Financial Times reports that Scotland's Deputy First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, who is responsible for health care at the Cabinet level, wrote to the Scottish Parliament that "there may be a case" for co-payments.

The UK government is considering the issue of allowing patients to pay for drugs without losing NHS coverage, which they pay for in taxation, with a review expected to announce recommendations later this year. The Scottish Medicines Authority, which recommends which drugs should available to NHS patients in Scotland, is also examining the principles that should govern the prescribing and funding of medicines.