Since 2000 there have been a number of policy changes in the UK to remove barriers that limit access to medicines. Perhaps the most significant of these have been the phased reduction and abolition of the prescription charge in Wales and the efforts of the UK Government to encourage the reclassification of medicines. This thesis explored aspects of both these changes. The percent change in the number of prescription items dispensed over the two year period before and after the first reduction of the prescription charge in October 2004 was determined. There was an increase in the percent change median interquartile range for non-sedating antihistamines 7.3 5.0 - 10.7 to 13.7 10.9 - 17.1, p=0.001 and laxatives 2.2 0.8 - 3.1 to 3.7 1.4 - 6.4, p=0.04, whilst no change was observed for loperamide -1.2 -3.3 - 3.2 to 2.6 -0.9 - 5.2, p 0.11 and fluconazole -7.4 -14.4 - 2.1 to -3.7 -10.9 - 1.4, p=0.52. Over the counter OTC sales of omeprazole and simvastatin were monitored following reclassification and accounted for less than 1 of the volume of their prescription counterpart. In contrast, sales of OTC hyoscine butylbromide and chloramphenicol eye drops were more than 20 of the number of items dispensed. Twelve months after reclassification there was an increase in the percent change in the number of prescription items dispensed for hyoscine butylbromide in Wales 5.8 0.2 - 12.6 to 20.7 4.4 - 25.6, p=0.007, whilst prescriptions for chloramphenicol eye drops decreased 10.0 6.0 - 13.6 to -8.9 -13.1 - -4.4, p=0.001. More OTC chloramphenicol was sold in less deprived areas r=-0.44, p=0.04. The changes in prescription volume and OTC medicine sales varied from medicine to medicine and require a qualitative evaluation to better understand the reasons behind the differences observed.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:584431 |
| Date | January 2008 |
| Creators | Dhippayom, Teerapon |
| Publisher | Cardiff University |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Source | http://orca.cf.ac.uk/55716/ |
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