Medicines are central to modern healthcare, but with limited resources difficult decisions must be made about which new treatments to fund. Recent changes to the way medicines are assessed for cost-effectiveness by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), along with updates to the UK-wide pricing scheme, could affect which medicines are recommended and how much this costs the NHS.
This research briefing looks at how new medicines are made available to patients in Wales. It explains how medicines are licensed and assessed for clinical and cost-effectiveness, the role of the All Wales Medicines Strategy Group (AWMSG), and the operation of the New Treatment Fund. It also examines how spending on new medicines is managed and how patients can access treatments that are not routinely available through Individual Patient Funding Requests (IPFRs).
Article by John Hitchcock, Senedd Research, Welsh Parliament
