Switching heart drugs ‘could save billions’

If doctors switched their patients over to cheaper cholesterol lowering drugs (statins) they could save the NHS two billion pounds over the next five years, according to senior doctors writing in the British Medical Journal (BMJ) this week.

Prescriptions of statins have been on the increase and the NHS is said to have spent 738 million pounds on the drugs in 2004 alone.

Statins are considered to be one of the great success stories in preventative medicine because of their effectiveness in reducing cholesterol and their use in preventing heart failure.

The authors wrote that, if doctors were to switch from prescribing the more expensive atorvastatin to the cheaper simvastatin drugs, costs could fall dramatically.

James Moon and Richard Bogle, authors of the discussion, agreed: “It is time for the United Kingdom to implement therapeutic substitution of simvastatin nationally.

“This policy would save two billion pounds, increase value for money, and release much needed resources to other areas of the NHS.”

The American Heart Association describe statins as very effective in reducing cholesterol and given the potential savings, simvastatins are being strongly recommended for generic prescription.

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