General practice is wasting millions of pounds onprescribing statins and antihypertensives for primary prevention when money could be better spent elsewhere, claims a GP cardiology expert.
Dr Malcolm Kendrick, a peer reviewer for the BMJ and GP in Macclesfield who has worked with the European Society of Cardiology, will be taking the lead in a clinical debate at Pulse Live, speaking for the motion that `The NHS is wasting millions on primary prevention’.
Dr Kendrick, author of The Great Cholesterol Con, tells Pulse: `We have become obsessed with preventative medicine, to the point where our patients, especially our elderly patients, are groaning under the burden of mass medicalisation. Where is the proof that potentially toxic brew has benefits that will outweigh drug interactions, and adverse events? Well, frankly, such evidence does not exist.’
Dr Terry McCormack, GP in Whitby with a special interest in cardiology, will speak against the motion. He comments to Pulse: `I don’t think we have put enough emphasis on primary prevention in the NHS and I don’t think we spend enough on primary prevention. We can do it a lot better – it’s not just about statins although their use is one of the building blocks of primary prevention.’
Pulse Live will be held on April 30 and May 1 at the Birmingham Metropole Hotel.
