Under the Health (Pricing and Supply of Medical Goods) Act 2013, the HSE has statutory responsibility for decisions on the pricing and reimbursement of medicines and medical devices; therefore, I have asked the HSE for an update in this matter. The HSE has advised that an online application system for reimbursement support of lidocaine (Versatis®) 5% medicated plasters under Community Drug Schemes was introduced in 2017. The GP or hospital clinician can register the patient details for Versatis® through the PCRS Application Suite. The prescriber will need to outline certain criteria for its use. The application will be reviewed by the HSE Medicines Management Programme (MMP) before treatment can be authorised for reimbursement support under Community Drug Schemes, including Drugs Payment Scheme (DPS). Where there is a negative reimbursement decision, the outcome of the application can be appealed by the prescriber. Appeals can be sent directly to the HSE Medicines Management Programme at mmp@hse.ie. Appeals must be made by the patient’s clinician and should include any additional information to support the unmet clinical need for lidocaine (Versatis®) plaster based on failure of other treatment options. Appeals are reviewed on a case-by-case basis reviewing the information provided in the initial online application and the information in the appeal submission to the MMP. A letter outlining the final reimbursement recommendation is communicated back to the clinician.
