The number of prescription items dispensed in the community has increased by 58.5 per cent since 2003 new Health and Social Care Information Centre (HSCIC) analysis shows today. Over 1.03 billion items were prescribed in 2013 compared to 649.7 million in 2003.

The number of prescription items (3) topped one billion for the first time in 2012, and the latest data for 2013 shows that this has increased by a further three per cent (29.6 million).

The overall Net Ingredient Cost (2) (NIC) of prescriptions has only increased by 14.8 per cent since 2003. In 2013 the overall NIC of prescriptions stood at £8.63 billion, compared to £7.51 billion in 2003 and £8.52 billion in 2012.

The Prescriptions Dispensed in the Community 2003-2013 report looks at prescriptions dispensed in England by community pharmacists, appliance contractors, dispensing doctors and prescriptions for items administered in GP practices (1).

Ninety per cent (4) of all prescription items are dispensed free of charge (3). For the first time, this report looks at the overall net ingredient cost of free of charge prescriptions, which shows:

  • 59.5 per cent of the free of charge items were dispensed to patients claiming an age exemption of '60 years and over' and accounted for 50.5 per cent of overall NIC.
  • 4.7 per cent of the free of charge items were dispensed to patients claiming an age exemption of 'under 16, or aged 16-18 in full-time education' and accounted for 6.8 per cent of the overall net ingredient cost.

The report also shows that in 2013:

  • Atorvastatin, a drug which helps to reduce the likelihood of heart attacks and strokes, had the greatest decrease in cost of any drug over the last year, a £124.2 million decrease from £166.6 million in 2012 to £42.4 million in 2013. It also had the greatest increase in the number of items dispensed, from 12.8 million in 2012 to 18.3 million in 2013, an increase of 5.5 million items.
  • The cost of antidepressant drugs stood at £282.1 million, a 33.6 per cent (£71.0 million) increase from 2012 (£211.1 million). The number of items dispensed reached 53.3 million, a 6.3 per cent increase from 50.2 million in 2012.
  • The cost for drugs used in the treatment of Diabetes stood at £793.8 million, a 3.4 per cent (£25.9 million) increase from 2012 (£767.9 million). The number of prescription items dispensed reached 44.6 million, a 5.7 per cent (2.4 million) increase from 42.2 million in 2012.

HSCIC chair Kingsley Manning said: "We are prescribing almost 60 per cent more items in the community than in 2003, but, over the same period, the cost of these has increased by only 15 per cent.

The finding that over 60s accounted for almost 60 per cent of the free of charge prescriptions, which in turn make up ninety per cent of all prescriptions, will help the NHS to understand the provision required for the aging population in England."

The report can be accessed at: http://www.hscic.gov.uk/pubs/presdisp0313