"We are not saying that general practitioners should be 'paid' to prescribe the least expensive drug. We simply need to encourage cost/effectiveness throughout the health service, directly involving doctors working in the NHS to provide the best possible care at the lowest possible cost".
This is the position of Giorgio Foresti, president of Asso-Generici, after the sentence of the European Court of Justice regarding the legitimacy of the economic incentives recognized in Great Britain to general practitioners to increase the share of prescriptions for equivalent drugs.
"We therefore agree with the vision expressed by the president of Simg Claudio Cricelli - continues Foresti - when he points out that without results in terms of better health, it is not sensible to talk about savings, however limited the expenditure may be. Now that the economic difficulties of the Regions are increasing, especially those that have failed to pay off the repayment plans, AssoGenerici believes that the doctor's involvement is essential, also through a cultural battle, to spread the concept that the equivalent drug is not a tool to cut spending, but to buy 'more health' at the same price or freeing up resources for innovative therapies"
Margherita Lopes – PharmaKronos May 18, 2010 
