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The government, the pharmaceutical industry and the economics of psychotropic drug prescribing
Author(s) -
Cantopher Tim,
Guy Edwards J.,
Olivieri Stefano
Publication year - 1988
Publication title -
human psychopharmacology: clinical and experimental
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.461
H-Index - 78
eISSN - 1099-1077
pISSN - 0885-6222
DOI - 10.1002/hup.470030410
Subject(s) - falling (accident) , chlordiazepoxide , psychotropic drug , medical prescription , drug , government (linguistics) , medicine , diazepam , drug prices , psychiatry , pharmacology , economics , public economics , linguistics , philosophy
Abstract The numbers of NHS prescriptions for tranquillizers in England are falling, having peaked in the mid‐1970s. This fall is not mirrored by prescriptions for other psychotropic drugs. Drug costs have risen over the past ten years faster than inflation, though a temporary fall in the price of Valium (diazepam) and Librium (chlordiazepoxide) had a profound effect on this trend. The economics of psychotropic drug prescribing, including the reasons for these increases, are considered. Ways of cutting the drug bill are examined.