Impact of the credit crunch: how will the NHS respond to its two year window of opportunity?

Not a day passes when we hear more bad news about the economy. And the budget signals that if not today, then in the future all public services are going to have to draw in their horns.

Senior Department of Health executives, speaking at a recent NHS Alliance Conference, suggested that the NHS has two years left before it starts to the credit crunch’s bite – maybe less if there is an election in a years’ time. But this should not be cause complacency in the health sector. The message is, invest wisely now so that you are well prepared for the fallow times ahead.

That argument is likely to resonate well with your NHS customers; and it is one that the pharma industry can easily weave into its marketing strategies.

A focus on spending plans for the next two years provides a platform to talk about fast tracking prescribing and use of medicines, which can already prove their cost effectiveness because the sooner the NHS invests, the sooner future savings will be made.

In fact, this mantra may impact on PPRS if the Shadow Health Minister Mark Simmonds has his way. At a recent, he intimated that he was keen to see a PPRS linked to outcomes, with those medicines that are proven to deliver the best health outcomes enjoying a premium price instead of the current blanket approach to pricing.

Investing now to prevent future health care costs is an argument that should resonate with commissioners too. Senior executives at The Department of Health see the credit crunch as a bit of a side show in any case. They know that faced with a increasingly aged and obese population who are failing to improve their health, unless radical changes happens, the NHS will not be sustainable in its current form.

The NHS may be sheltered from the storm for now, but with mounting Government debt and the public health challenges it faces, cost containment is inevitable. It is more important than ever to optimise patient care. If you want support in getting the right treatments to the right patients
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