Citation and Commencement

1.  These Regulations may be cited as the Health and Personal Social Services (General Medical Services Contracts) (Prescription of Drugs Etc) (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2014 and shall come into operation on 1st September 2014.

Amendment of the Health and Personal Social Services (General Medical Services Contracts) (Prescription of Drugs Etc) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2004

2.  (1)  Schedule 2 (drugs, medicines and other substances to be ordered only in certain circumstances) to the Health and Personal Social Services (General Medical Services Contracts) (Prescription of drugs Etc) Regulations 2004(2) is amended as follows.

(a)in column 1 of the table (Drug), omit the entry for "Cyanocobalamin Tablets" and the adjacent part which relates to the description of the patient (column 2) and the condition (column 3);

(b)in column 1 of the table (Drug), for the words "The following drugs for the treatment of erectile dysfunction-" substitute "The following drugs-";

(c)in column 1 of the table (Drug), in the entry relating to drugs for the treatment of erectile dysfunction, omit-

(i)"Alprostadil, (Caverject), (MUSE), (Viridal)",

(ii)"Apomorphine Hydrochloride, (Uprima)",

(iii)"Moxisylyte Hydrochloride, (Erecnos)",

(iv)"(Cialis)",

(v)"Thymoxamine Hydrochloride, (Erecnos)", and

(vi)"(Levitra)";

(d)in column 2 of the table (Patient)-

(i)at the beginning of the entry relating to drugs for the treatment of erectile dysfunction, insert "(1) The following patients with erectile dysfunction-", and

(ii)at the end of paragraph (f) of that entry, insert-

"(2) Any patient."; and

(e)in column 3 (Condition), opposite "(2) Any patient" in column 2, insert the words "Treatment of a condition, other than erectile dysfunction, in respect of which the drug ordered is considered an appropriate treatment".

Sealed with the Official Seal of the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety on 24th July 2014

Mark Timoney

A senior officer of the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations amend the Health and Personal Social Services (General Medical Services Contracts) (Prescription of Drugs Etc) Regulations 2004.

Regulation 2 amends the table in Schedule 2 by removing the entry for Cyanocobalamin Tablets from the list of drugs that may be ordered in respect of specified persons in certain circumstances. The Regulation further amends the table in the Schedule in that the entry in the table relating to certain specified drugs which may be ordered for the treatment of erectile dysfunction has been amended so as to clarify that any such drug may also be ordered for any patient for the purpose of treating a medical condition, other than erectile dysfunction, if it is considered an appropriate treatment for that condition.

References to the brand names of the specified erectile dysfunction drugs, which appeared in brackets in column 1 of the table, have also been omitted, by way of provision in regulation 2, to make it clear that the restrictions apply to all formulations of the active ingredient in whatever way they are presented. Entries relating to Alprostadil (Cacverject), (MUSE), (Viridal); Apomorphine Hydrochloride (Uprima); Moxisylate Hydrochloride (Erecnos) and Thymoxine Hydrochloride (Erecnos), which appear in column 1 of the table relating to drugs which may be ordered for the treatment of erectile dysfunction, have been removed from that column as these products are either no longer in patent or licensed for the treatment of erectile dysfunction.