The NHS Information Centre has today for the first time published quarterly Prescription Cost Analysis data for England.

Prescription Cost Analysis (PCA) provides details of the number of items and the net ingredient cost of all prescriptions dispensed in the community in England.

The drugs dispensed are listed by British National Formulary (BNF) therapeutic class.

Today's published data covers January to March 2011 and can be accessed at www.ic.nhs.uk/pubs/quarterlypcajanmarch11

New data will now be published each quarter, with the next release scheduled for October 2011.

The annual PCA National Statistic publication will continue to be released each year, with the 2011 publication due in April 2012.

Data for the final quarter of 2011 will be published in May 2012.