Health Secretary Jeane Freeman says there must be a whole system approach to bring real change to the supply and demand of medicines.

Medicines are the most common intervention in our healthcare system so it is important we get the most from them, she adds.

More people with complex conditions are being treated at home, Ms Freeman tells MSPs, confirming £1.7bn was spent on medicine in 2018-19, with the largest volume being dispensed in the community at a cost of £1.3bn.

The health secretary explains 11% of all hospital admissions are related to medicine-related harm, many of which are preventable.

Pharmacists are improving clinical outcomes of people and alleviating the workload of GPs, she says, highlighting the Pharmacy First Scotland service will launch in April.

Lewis Macdonald, the committee convener, welcomes:

• Health Secretary Jeane Freeman

Image source, bbc

And the following Scottish government offiicials:

• Chief Pharmaceutical Officer Rose Marie Parr
• Principal Pharmaceutical Officer Alison Strath,
• Head of Pharmacy Branch Bryan Lamb
• Head of Effective Prescribing and Therapeutics Alpana Mair

Image source, Getty Images

The ‘supply and demand for medicines inquiry’ looks at the increasing cost of medicines for Scotland’s NHS.

The committee is seeking to find out how medicine usage can be improved and waste reduced, with estimates suggesting anywhere from 15% to 50% of prescriptions go to waste.

The growth in expenditure on drugs in Scotland is outstripping the growth in total NHS expenditure in both primary and secondary care:

Average year on year growth rate in hospital and primary care costs between 2012/13 and 2018/19:

• Hospital drug costs 6.6%
• All hospital costs 1.5%
• Primary care drug costs 3.6%
• All primary care costs 2.3%

Source: ISD Scotland, Health Costs Book, tables R600

Image source, Getty Images

Health Secretary Jeane Freeman gives evidence to MSPs, as they continue an inquiry into the supply and demand for medicines.

Read the papers here., external

Welcome to BBC Scotland's Holyrood Live coverage of the Scottish Parliament on Tuesday 11 March 2020.

Here's what we're covering today:

11:15am: The Health Committee takes evidence from Jeane Freeman on the supply of medicines

2:05pm: Topical Questions: The health secretary is up again, this time getting the chance to respond to claims from the former NHS Lothian chair Brian Houston that she lied about the board's position on the delayed opening of Edinburgh’s Sick Kids

2:20-3:20pm: Scottish Government Debate: The Local Government Finance (Scotland) Order 2020

Image source, BBC/Getty Images

3:20-4:30pm:Stage 3 Amendments: Scottish Biometrics Commissioner Bill

4:30pm: Stage 3 Debate: Scottish Biometrics Commissioner Bill

followed by the Appointment of Auditor General for Scotland

5:05pm: Members’ Business: Stuart McMillan – Communication Failure? A Review of the Accessibility of Health Information for Blind and Partially Sighted People