€15 million Savings Possible on Just Two "Preferred Drugs".

HSE’s medicines management programme has announced preferred drugs for PPI’s and statins.

The preferred Satin is Simvastatin.

The recently established HSE Medicines Management Programme has identified ‘preferred drugs’ for prescribers when prescribing Proton Pump Inhibitors (PPIs) or Statin medication for patients. This is the first time that the State has introduced a preferred drug initiative. 
PPIs are prescribed for patients with peptic ulcer disease and/or reflux and Statin medication is for high cholesterol. The preferred PPI is Lansoprazole and the preferred Satin is Simvastatin.

The HSE is asking doctors to prescribe these preferred drugs in order to save money, both for patients who pay for their medication and to deliver savings of an estimated €15million for the taxpayer. PPIs and Statins account for up to 15% of the HSE’s drugs budget. By changing existing patients to the preferred drug, and by prescribing these drugs for new patients, significant savings can be achieved.

The preferred PPI is Lansoprazole

If 50% of all PPI prescriptions were Lansoprazole (Zoton Fastab), instead of the other PPIs on the market, the HSE would save in the region of €7.5 million on the drugs budget in 2013. By switching 25% of all prescribed Statins to Simvastatin (Zocor) the HSE could save in the region of €8 million.


Patients who do not have a medical card could save over €300 per annum if they switch to the preferred drugs. Patients should discuss their suitability for changing to the preferred drug with their doctor.