Prescription charge causing ‘hundreds of heart attacks’

Hundreds of people have suffered strokes and heart attacks yearly as a direct result of the introduction of prescription charges in 2011, a conference on the future of the health service has been told.

The introduction of prescription charges led to people forgoing their blood pressure lowering medication on cost grounds, according to Prof Charles Normand, a healthcare management expert from Trinity College Dublin.

This has resulted in an additional 200-300 strokes a year, and a similar number of excess heart attacks, he said.

The charge was introduced at a “nominal” 50c per item rate for medical card holders in 2011, and increased to €2.50 in 2013.

Despite complaints by patients and doctors, attempts to have it abolished or reduced have been resisted by the Government, for which it raises over €120 million a year.

There was no convincing evidence that user fees, such as the prescription charge, discourages wasteful use of health services, he told the conference organised by the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation.

Equally, there was good evidence that such barriers reduced the necessary use of services.

Outlining possible models for funding the health service, Prof Normand said the desired goal of universal healthcare should mean an expanded, coherent and sensibly rationed system, not “anything goes” in terms of funding.

Prof Normand said the health system was inequitable and inefficient but the present system of funding it may not be the problem: “It’s the unwillingness to devote resources to it which is the problem”

Problems of access to healthcare and equity were fixable, he said, at reasonable cost. However, this would have to include reducing reliance of the current system of private healthcare.

All financing systems in other countries have tended to disappoint, so if Ireland wishes to reform its system it will have to be clever about it, he said.

Tom Healy, director of the Nevin Institute think-tank, was it was no unreasonable to expect that spending on health should increase from 7.5 per cent of GDP at present to over 10 per cent.

There was scope for improvements and reforms in the current system, he acknowledged, singling out the excessive cost of drugs.