Open Data Probe Shows NHS Statin Bill Twice What It Should Be

A start up using some of the flood of new government data being published says the NHS could make considerable savings on its drug expenditure if it wanted. Does it have a point? A so-called “Open Data” group says its analysis of recently published health service datasets reveals hard evidence of inefficient medicine procuring practices in the NHS.

Open Data refers to government information, hitherto held as secret, now being published as a source for analysis and possible commercial exploitation by third parties. Not all government data is being so disclosed. The data, it needs to be said at the outset, is partial and only covers what GPs, not hospitals, proscribe. It is also only about one set of drugs - statins, the cholesterol-lowering drugs doctors prescribe to reduce the risk of heart attacks and strokes...