methadone cost to nhs (report for college)

[drinkabeveridge]

I am currently compilinga report on the costs and effects of Methadone to the NHS and I am struggling to find out the cost of a single dose of Methadone. I would appreciate if anyonecould let me know what the cost is, and if you have any other information regarding my report, or advice from personal experience from dispensing Methadone would be BRILLIANT Thank you all very much

[ramroum]

Why not visit your local community pharmacy and have a chat with the pharmacist about it.

[Erystiva]

Several factors make it difficult to pin-down an accurate cost.

• Purchase price of the drug can differ depending on any supplier contracts that are in place.

• Doses can be quite different for each patient.

• Duration of treatment can be quite different for each patient.

My personal opinion is that Methadone is great when supplied to a patient that is actually committed to the treatment. Its a total waste to another that is simply getting a free hit and spending all day down the pub or worse with unsupervised patients selling their methadone on.

Our profession is to provide care and treatment to patients, in that case the cost to the NHS is insignificant, any cost to the NHS due to abuse of the system is significant.

[drinkabeveridge]

Several factors make it difficult to pin-down an accurate cost.

• Purchase price of the drug can differ depending on any supplier contracts that are in place.

• Doses can be quite different for each patient.

• Duration of treatment can be quite different for each patient.

My personal opinion is that Methadone is great when supplied to a patient that is actually committed to the treatment. Its a total waste to another that is simply getting a free hit and spending all day down the pub or worse with unsupervised patients selling their methadone on.

Our profession is to provide care and treatment to patients, in that case the cost to the NHS is insignificant, any cost to the NHS due to abuse of the system is significant.

Thankyou for your advice. It was very helpful. It has been an extremely difficult report to do, i have got quite a lot done so far, hopefully it will be enough to pass, i ended up just using overall costs and putting the reasons why it works and doesnt work etc. thankyou

[hfleming]

Hello - I'm new to this forum and have a somewhat unique situation. Moving to London from Los Angeles, currently taking Methadone, 10mg - One tablet 3 times daily as a treatment for severe Restless Legs Syndrome (RLS). I've consulted remotely with the London Pain Centre (LPC), and after assessing the patient records are willing to prescribe the same treatment I'm receiving in US. My question is two fold, 1) prior to registering on NHS and getting a GP, what is the cost for the above prescription, if not covered by NHS. 2) Any tips or issues to be concerned with regarding getting methadone ccovered by NHS for RLS and not heroine addiction. Any help is greatly appreciated. thank you!!!!

[bobbin]

Hello - I'm new to this forum and have a somewhat unique situation. Moving to London from Los Angeles, currently taking Methadone, 10mg - One tablet 3 times daily as a treatment for severe Restless Legs Syndrome (RLS). I've consulted remotely with the London Pain Centre (LPC), and after assessing the patient records are willing to prescribe the same treatment I'm receiving in US. My question is two fold, 1) prior to registering on NHS and getting a GP, what is the cost for the above prescription, if not covered by NHS. 2) Any tips or issues to be concerned with regarding getting methadone ccovered by NHS for RLS and not heroine addiction. Any help is greatly appreciated. thank you!!!!

Methadone is available as 5mg tablets in the UK. They are very inexpensive and the cost of prescriptions will not be an issue. I think it's fair to say that the large majority of doctors in the UK would not be willing to prescribe methadone for anything apart from opioid dependence or severe chronic pain under the supervision of a specialist. Assuming that you will not be eligible for treatment on the NHS, the cost of paying to see a doctor at the LPC in order to obtain a prescription could be considerable.

[Zoggite]

hfleming,
I really struggle to believe that anyone in the UK is going to be willing to prescribe methadone for RLS, whether it be on the NHS or not. But if you do manage to find someone qualified and prepared to prescribe it to you, and someone is willing to dispense & supply them to you, then it shouldn't realistically cost you more than £12 per month...

[Web Ferret]

hfleming,
I really struggle to believe that anyone in the UK is going to be willing to prescribe methadone for RLS, whether it be on the NHS or not. But if you do manage to find someone qualified and prepared to prescribe it to you, and someone is willing to dispense & supply them to you, then it shouldn't realistically cost you more than £12 per month...

Expect the doctors consultation fee to be over £60.

[hfleming]

thank you everyone for your advice. Very much appreciated..