Rise in total prescription items dispensed in England, but fall in their net ingredient cost

The number of prescription items dispensed in England in 2008 increased by 5.8 per cent from the previous year, but the total net ingredient cost of those items fell by 0.6 per cent, a report from The NHS Information Centre (The NHS IC) shows today.

The total number of prescription items dispensed increased by nearly two thirds between 1998 and 2008, according to; Prescriptions Dispensed in the Community, England: Statistics for 1998 to 2008.

The report analyses Prescription Cost Analysis data published by The NHS IC in April 2009 and covers all prescriptions dispensed in England by community pharmacists, appliance contractors and dispensing doctors. It shows that in 2008:

  • A total of 842.5million prescription items were dispensed; an increase of 5.8 per cent from 2007 and an increase of 64.1 per cent from 1998 (when there were 513.2 million).
  • The net ingredient cost of all prescriptions dispensed was £8,325.5 million; a decrease of 0.6 per cent from 2007. In 1998, the net ingredient cost of all prescriptions dispensed was £4,701.5 million.
  • The average net ingredient cost per prescription item was £9.88, a decrease of 6.0 per cent in cash terms from 2007. The average net ingredient cost per item in 1998 was £9.16.

The British National Formulary (BNF) chapter with the greatest number of total prescription items dispensed was the Cardiovascular System, and the BNF section with the greatest number of prescription items dispensed was Hypertension and Heart Failure.

The BNF Chapter with the greatest Net Ingredient Cost was the Central Nervous System and the BNF section with the greatest Net Ingredient Cost was Drugs used in Diabetes.

An average of 16.4 prescription items were dispensed per head of the population in England, compared to 15.6 items per head in 2007 and 10.5 items per head in 1998.

NHS Information Centre chief executive Tim Straughan said: “Our report shows an increase in the number of prescription items dispensed in the last year, but a reduction in the total net ingredient cost of those items.

“The reduction in cost may be due in part to the Category M scheme, where the net ingredient cost for some commonly prescribed drugs is controlled, with the aim of reducing costs overall.”

The full report can be viewed at www.ic.nhs.uk/pubs/presdisp98-08

Notes to editors

  1. The NHS Information Centre for health and social care (The NHS IC) is England's authoritative, central, independent source of health and social care information. It works with a wide range of health and social care providers nationwide to provide the facts and figures that help the NHS and social services run effectively. Its role is to collect data, analyse it and convert it into useful information which helps providers improve their services and supports academics, researcher, regulators and policymakers in their work. The NHS IC also produces a wide range of statistical publications each year across a number of areas including: primary care, health and lifestyles, screening, hospital care, population and geography, social care and workforce and pay statistics.
  2. This bulletin covers all prescriptions that were dispensed in England by community pharmacists, appliance contractors and dispensing doctors. The majority of prescriptions dispensed are written by GPs but prescriptions written by dentists and prescriptions written in hospital or a Community Health Trust are also included, provided they were dispensed by a community pharmacist.
  3. The bulletin shows the headline cost (net ingredient cost) of medicines before the deduction of discount or charges paid and therefore does not represent the actual cost to the NHS, however many overall messages are very similar. Details of all items dispensed, including costs were published in The NHS Information Centre's Prescription Cost Analysis (PCA) publication on April 2009.
  4. Definitions Prescription Item Prescribers write prescriptions on a prescription form. Each single item written on the form is counted as a prescription item. Items per head of population This bulletin uses mid-year resident population estimates and projections based on the 2001 Census. British National Formulation (BNF) The BNF is a joint publication of the British Medical Association and the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain. It is published biannually under the authority of a Joint Formulary Committee which comprises representatives of the two professional bodies and of the UK Health Departments The BNF aims to provide prescribers, pharmacists and other healthcare professionals with sound up-to-date information about the use of medicines. The BNF includes key information on the selection, prescribing, dispensing and administration of medicines. It is split into chapters by therapeutic class of drug. These notes are divided into 15 chapters, each of which is related to a particular system of the body or to an aspect of medical care. Each chapter is then divided into sections
  5. There have been reductions in the costs of some commonly prescribed drugs. This is related to price changes under the Category M scheme. This is an arrangement where the net ingredient cost for selected generic formulations is controlled, with the aim of reducing costs overall. The drugs subject to the new arrangements are classified as Category M in Part VIII of the Drug Tariff. The majority of these formulations have fallen in price, although some have increased.
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