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NHS saves millions of pounds through NMS

Will extension of new medicine service create greater savings in the long term?

The new medicine service could lead to more than half a billion pounds in savings for the NHS in the long term, claims a report by three universities.

In a study, the Universities of Manchester, Nottingham and University College London say the NMS has improved patients’ medicines adherence by 10% and has already saved £75m in its first five years.

Chair of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of England Sandra Gidley said the list of medicines covered by the service should be extended to all long-term conditions, including mental health.

She said: ‘We’d also like to see more patients referred into the service by primary or secondary care providers to ensure the service is used as widely as possible. All patients prescribed new medication should be encouraged to take part in the new medicine service by their prescriber.’

Previous research by the University of Nottingham said medicines non-adherence in asthma, type 2 diabetes, cholesterol/coronary heart disease, hypertension and schizophrenia costs the English NHS more than £930m a year.

Further information

Royal Pharmaceutical Society: Study claims the new medicine service will save the NHS over £500m

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