In primary care, the volatility and vagaries of pricing of over 500 commonly prescribed generic medicines included in the ‘Category M’ scheme, has had a profound impact on expenditure on individual drugs since it was introduced in 2005.1 The scheme provides a price adjustment mechanism as part of the national contract for community pharmacy and has been successful in reducing the amount spent on such drugs by the NHS.1,2 However, unpredictable fluctuations in drug prices present budget-holders with a dilemma: should they consider short-term therapeutic …