We need your help now
Support from readers like you keeps The Journal open.
You are visiting us because we have something you value. Independent, unbiased news that tells the truth. Advertising revenue goes some way to support our mission, but this year it has not been enough.
If you've seen value in our reporting, please contribute what you can, so we can continue to produce accurate and meaningful journalism. For everyone who needs it.
Sign in. It’s quick, free and it’s up to you.
An account is an optional way to support the work we do. Find out more.
By continuing, you are indicating that you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.
THE HSE SPENT just less than €7.5 million providing injectable beta-interferon to patients suffering from multiple sclerosis (MS) in the first ten months of this year.
The information was revealed by Minister of State Alex White, in response to a question from independent TD Terence Flanagan who also asked about the prescribing guidelines for disease modifying treatments and the extent to which White believed they were being adhered to.
Figures show the number of patients receiving the injection treatments has fallen from 1,103 in 2011 to 866 in 2012. In the first ten months of 2013, 814 patients received the injectable beta-interferon treatment.
Costs from January to October reached €7,480,363 this year, falling from €10.2 million in 2013 and €11.3 in 2011.
The junior minister said the Medicines Management Programme, which was established by the HSE aims to ensure patients have access to the essential medicines that they need. He said it also” facilitates more cost-effective prescribing with initiatives in relation to high-costs medicines” and ensures value for money in relation to medicines.
White added that another aim of the MMP was enhancing evidence-based prescribing and optimising patient safety thorough a reduction in medication related adverse events.
On the issue of prescribing deadlines, the minister of state said he would refer this to the HSE for a reply.
There have been calls for a cannabis-based drug called Sativec to be approved for the Irish market as it has been identified as suitable for the relief of certain symptoms of MS. The Department of Health has said that it is engaging with experts on how best to make it legally available in Ireland while maintaining existing controls on cannabis.
It is expected that new regulations to allow for this will be introduced early in 2014.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
Public money very well spent. If that’s what it costs, I as a taxpayer have no issue with that. If they can get a get deal, great. Go do that. But don’t stop paying out for MS patients. Their life is hard enough without the worry of affording expensive drugs. I’m sure the State spends (and wastes) other money in far worse ways.
Is this article giving out about the money spent or just letting us all know that a tiny part of the hse budget is spent helping people. It’s not headline news that money is spent on sick people it’s just the way things should be done
The point of the question is that b-inf is not effective for many MS patients, but it’s very expensive. The prescribing guidelines are supposed to ensure that it’s used properly. That’s what Flanagan is asking about.
It’s difficult to understand what this article is about. Very unclear and with no explanations about the beta interferon injections for anyone who doesn’t understand what they do and why they are prescribed. A student of journalism would do better.
Emily
I normally respect your contributions on this website but in this particular case I believe you are overstepping the mark. The treatment of difficult medical conditions such as MS is in the hands of eminently qualified physicians who spend many years in training and in the management of such patients and amateurs should avoid amateurish pontificating on the subject.
Richie, I’d agree that politicians arguing about clinical matters is a bad thing. The thing is that the clinical effectiveness of the ABCR drugs has a wealth of supporting evidence, as does the cost effectiveness. That’s why we have prescribing guidelines. The suspicion is that those guidelines are being ignored. If that’s the case, it means that the drug budget is being misallocated, and someone else is suffering needlessly. It’s legitimate to ask the question.
The answer on its own tells us pretty much nothing, though.
Dermot I completely agree – the article is not at all clear on what it is trying to convey. Also mentioning Sativec in the same context of betaferon is arguably not relevant as they do completely different things for people with MS and are therefore not comparable.
Beta interferon is one of the oldest and first of the modified disease therapies for ms. The reason that figures are now showing a decline is that more effective therapies have been developed in the interim. Savitex is used for pain management in spasms in ms and does not in any way modify the course of the disease.
A dribble in the ocean, Ireland squanders more readies on foreign aid in 48hrs.
Every 96 hours approximately and it isn’t squandered.
As one of the 814 thanks! I was diagnosed over 10 years ago & apart from some small relapses am well, working & able to contribute towards the tax bill. Had I not been on interferon I could be costing the state considerably more!
Very Interesting that the Irisg prescribing guidelines are being questioned…..this needs more digging, and comparisons should be drawn between how easy it is to change meds here, versus other countries.
There are 3 alternatives to the injections all of which have a greater efficacy and side effect profile, but they are extremely difficult to get a prescription for, as an MS patient.
I see others changing meds much easier in most other countries; I’m a regular participant on an international message board for MS’ers.
The two major issues are can Sativex be licensed quickly for spasticity and pain?
And can BG12 be licensed as fast as possible – this is an alternative to the injections, has a greater efficacy, and is a tablet.
I am so keen to get BG12. MS doesn’t normally improve over time.
Sativex is been delayed due to the facts it’s partly cannabis. Despite cannabis in its natural form been more effective
They would be best served appointing an appropriate number of Neurologists as our ratio is a disgrace.
Only then can all MS patients have tailored treatment plans that will minimise prescription costs and minimise relapse rates.
@D Although I agree Ireland is in desperate need of more neurologists, the real problem is HSE prescribing guidelines and funding.
More neuros do not necessarily mean easier access to more choices for those of us with MS.
Is the article not pointing out that spending on MS drug treatment has gone down? Is this because there are less people who need these treatments or because of cuts in funding?
I would imagine Mary, the cost has decreased because MS patients are being offered different medication. I have a family member with it and 6 months ago, he was switched to a daily tablet, while that is also expensive, it isn’t anywhere near the cost of the injections..
Thank you for that Anne. Sorry to hear about your relative. I’m glad that the savings are because there are cheaper medications which are hopefully more effective than older ones.
Is this article intended on causing controversy from begrudging tax payers to promote the wonderful journalism of “the journal” or to highlight that there is fairly adequate funding for a absolute worthy cause?
The main issue raised by the TD & the author is the reduction on actual spend for injectable DMD (disease modifying drugs). Over the past number of years research has been focused on developing oral alternatives to those previously only available via injection. These newer alternatives often cost much more than their injectable counterparts. Many MS patients I know have made the switch. In my case the switch from injections to tablets cost approx €10k more per annum, but the opportunity to switch was grasped with open arms & couldn’t have come quick enough. God bless the HSE.
Use precise geolocation data. Actively scan device characteristics for identification. Store and/or access information on a device. Personalised advertising and content, advertising and content measurement, audience research and services development.
These cookies are necessary for the website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems. They are usually only set in response to actions made by you which amount to a request for services, such as setting your privacy preferences, logging in or filling in forms. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not then work.
These cookies are set by a range of social media services that we have added to the site to enable you to share our content with your friends and networks. They are capable of tracking your browser across other sites and building up a profile of your interests. This may impact the content and messages you see on other websites you visit. If you do not allow these cookies you may not be able to use or see these sharing tools.
These cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.
These cookies enable the website to provide enhanced functionality and personalisation. They may be set by us or by third party providers whose services we have added to our pages. If you do not allow these cookies then these services may not function properly.
These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. They help us to know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. If you do not allow these cookies we will not be able to monitor our performance.
Cookies, device or similar online identifiers (e.g. login-based identifiers, randomly assigned identifiers, network based identifiers) together with other information (e.g. browser type and information, language, screen size, supported technologies etc.) can be stored or read on your device to recognise it each time it connects to an app or to a website, for one or several of the purposes presented here.
Advertising presented to you on this service can be based on limited data, such as the website or app you are using, your non-precise location, your device type or which content you are (or have been) interacting with (for example, to limit the number of times an ad is presented to you).
Information about your activity on this service (such as forms you submit, content you look at) can be stored and combined with other information about you (for example, information from your previous activity on this service and other websites or apps) or similar users. This is then used to build or improve a profile about you (that might include possible interests and personal aspects). Your profile can be used (also later) to present advertising that appears more relevant based on your possible interests by this and other entities.
Advertising presented to you on this service can be based on your advertising profiles, which can reflect your activity on this service or other websites or apps (like the forms you submit, content you look at), possible interests and personal aspects.
Information about your activity on this service (for instance, forms you submit, non-advertising content you look at) can be stored and combined with other information about you (such as your previous activity on this service or other websites or apps) or similar users. This is then used to build or improve a profile about you (which might for example include possible interests and personal aspects). Your profile can be used (also later) to present content that appears more relevant based on your possible interests, such as by adapting the order in which content is shown to you, so that it is even easier for you to find content that matches your interests.
Content presented to you on this service can be based on your content personalisation profiles, which can reflect your activity on this or other services (for instance, the forms you submit, content you look at), possible interests and personal aspects. This can for example be used to adapt the order in which content is shown to you, so that it is even easier for you to find (non-advertising) content that matches your interests.
Information regarding which advertising is presented to you and how you interact with it can be used to determine how well an advert has worked for you or other users and whether the goals of the advertising were reached. For instance, whether you saw an ad, whether you clicked on it, whether it led you to buy a product or visit a website, etc. This is very helpful to understand the relevance of advertising campaigns.
Information regarding which content is presented to you and how you interact with it can be used to determine whether the (non-advertising) content e.g. reached its intended audience and matched your interests. For instance, whether you read an article, watch a video, listen to a podcast or look at a product description, how long you spent on this service and the web pages you visit etc. This is very helpful to understand the relevance of (non-advertising) content that is shown to you.
Reports can be generated based on the combination of data sets (like user profiles, statistics, market research, analytics data) regarding your interactions and those of other users with advertising or (non-advertising) content to identify common characteristics (for instance, to determine which target audiences are more receptive to an ad campaign or to certain contents).
Information about your activity on this service, such as your interaction with ads or content, can be very helpful to improve products and services and to build new products and services based on user interactions, the type of audience, etc. This specific purpose does not include the development or improvement of user profiles and identifiers.
Content presented to you on this service can be based on limited data, such as the website or app you are using, your non-precise location, your device type, or which content you are (or have been) interacting with (for example, to limit the number of times a video or an article is presented to you).
With your acceptance, your precise location (within a radius of less than 500 metres) may be used in support of the purposes explained in this notice.
With your acceptance, certain characteristics specific to your device might be requested and used to distinguish it from other devices (such as the installed fonts or plugins, the resolution of your screen) in support of the purposes explained in this notice.
Your data can be used to monitor for and prevent unusual and possibly fraudulent activity (for example, regarding advertising, ad clicks by bots), and ensure systems and processes work properly and securely. It can also be used to correct any problems you, the publisher or the advertiser may encounter in the delivery of content and ads and in your interaction with them.
Certain information (like an IP address or device capabilities) is used to ensure the technical compatibility of the content or advertising, and to facilitate the transmission of the content or ad to your device.
Information about your activity on this service may be matched and combined with other information relating to you and originating from various sources (for instance your activity on a separate online service, your use of a loyalty card in-store, or your answers to a survey), in support of the purposes explained in this notice.
In support of the purposes explained in this notice, your device might be considered as likely linked to other devices that belong to you or your household (for instance because you are logged in to the same service on both your phone and your computer, or because you may use the same Internet connection on both devices).
Your device might be distinguished from other devices based on information it automatically sends when accessing the Internet (for instance, the IP address of your Internet connection or the type of browser you are using) in support of the purposes exposed in this notice.
The choices you make regarding the purposes and entities listed in this notice are saved and made available to those entities in the form of digital signals (such as a string of characters). This is necessary in order to enable both this service and those entities to respect such choices.
Non-TCF/GVL Vendors
have your say