Press Release
6th April 2000
Work to help end the lottery of postcode prescribing began on Monday when the Health Technology Board for Scotland came into existence.
The Board will advise the NHS in Scotland on the clinical effectiveness and cost effectiveness of new and existing drugs and treatments. It is an independent body headed up by Dr Angus Mackay, Physician Superintendent and Clinical Director at Lomond and Argyll Primary Care NHS Trust.
Welcoming the establishment of the Board, MSP for Greenock & Inverclyde, Duncan McNeil, said:
"It is time to end postcode prescribing once and for all.
"Every day new drugs and treatments become available. Advances in medical science mean huge increases in the number of healthcare innovations. It is important that the NHS in Scotland has access to the best possible advice so that patients are offered the most effective therapies.
"The Health Technology Board for Scotland is a single new source of evidence based advice on the most clinically effective and cost-effective treatments and drugs. It will work closely with the NHS and patient representatives to help ensure that the latest innovations and technologies move quickly into mainstream practice, removing the local inequities which currently exist.
"The Board will ensure resources are directed to drugs, treatments and services which will deliver the greatest benefits for patients. It will also have an important role to play in making sure that resources are not spent on new and existing treatments which do not provide clinical or cost-effective care."
ENDS
Notes:
At present, decisions on whether specific drugs and treatments are made available are made at a local level by Health Board's drug and therapeutic committees.
The Health Technology Board for Scotland will be a single-source of national advice. It will be established as a Special Health Board and be independent of health service management.
A further announcement will be made once the Board's membership has been finalised.
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