Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of brand-specific prescribing on the availability of medication at pharmacies.

The Department has made no assessment of the potential impact of brand-specific prescribing on the availability of medication at pharmacies.

Decisions about what medicines to prescribe are made by the doctor or healthcare professional responsible for that part of the patient’s care. Prescribers must always satisfy themselves that the medicines that they consider appropriate for their patients can be safely prescribed and that they take account of appropriate national guidance on clinical effectiveness, as well as the local commissioning decisions of their respective integrated care boards.

Prescribers can normally prescribe a medicine by brand or by the generic name, and in primary care, where a prescription specifies a branded medicine, that product must be dispensed, whereas for a generic prescription, any manufacturer’s product can be dispensed. For some medicines or some conditions, switching between manufacturers’ products carries additional clinical risks and guidance regarding the appropriateness of brand or generic prescribing for specific medicines or conditions might be issued.

To assist with the management of supply issues with certain medicines for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, clinical experts with input from the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency and the Department developed guidance on prescribing methylphenidate generically. This guidance was issued to provide prescribers with information on how to switch between methylphenidate products. This is a guidance document and as such there is no requirement for prescribers to follow it unless they deem it necessary and suitable for their patients.