One of the biggest costs to the National Health Service is the cost of medicines. It is our duty to make sure that our prescribing is in line with recommendations from respected academic and government bodies. From time to time we may make suggestions to you regarding a change in one or more of your medications, according to new published evidence or guidance. We may talk to you about this when you come for a medication review or on occasion, send out letters to patients about these issues. Often the issues are surrounding cost, but more often new guidance on prescribing medicines is based on new clinical evidence. We ask you for your understanding and consideration when we suggest changes to your medication in this way. Rarely, we may suggest stopping the prescribing of a certain drug, based on new evidence of harm or lack of clinical effect.

Most recently, we have sent our letters to patients who are prescribed Glucosamine on the NHS. New review of the evidence suggests that the benefit of this is very small or even non-existent compared to placebo. The cost however to the NHS is considerable. We have therefore asked patients to consider purchasing it themselves if they feel strongly that it has helped them.

For more information see:

www.cks.nhs.uk/

www.library.nhs.uk/