Concessions are granted when products are in short supply and their prices are starting to rise. It would seem sensible to assume that products with low reimbursement prices are more likely to experience supply difficulties simply because the manufacturer cannot make any money out of them.
The chart shows that this relationship by large is true, as the lower the reimbursement price the more frequent the granted concessions during the last 12 months.
Products with reimbursement prices above £40 seem to be almost completely protected against shortages and concessions. However, below this the risk increases with each drop in the reimbursement price.
One strange fact is that the number of concessions seems to go down when reimbursement prices are below a pound. An explanation may be that the majority of these products had experienced increases in the drug tariffs in recent months.
One thing is for sure, the drop in the number of products on the Concessions List from 168 in February to 90 in March is good news for prescribers, pharmacies and patients. We can only hope the list continues to reduce. WaveData Live customers can view the current Concessions List in the Reimbursement Prices report listings.