The NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) has published its annual statistics report ‘Prescription Cost Analysis - England 2022/23’.
The report shows that in 2022/23, 1.18 billion prescription items were dispensed in the community in England at a cost of £10.4 billion. This was an 8% increase from £9.69 billion in 2021/22.
Compared to 2014/15, the cost has increased by 17% or £1.48 billion. This marks the fourth year in a row where the cost of items dispensed has increased, after seeing a decrease in the previous three years from 2015/16 to 2018/19.
The report also shows the number of drugs and medical devices (such as blood glucose monitors) dispensed in the community in England increased by 3% to 1.18 billion, from 1.14 billion in 2021/22. Compared to 2014/15, this number has increased by 10%.
The most dispensed drug in England in 2022/23 was Atorvastatin (a medicine to treat high blood cholesterol), with 59 million items, while Apixaban (an anticoagulant) was the drug with the highest costs of £430 million.
Apixaban 5mg tablets had the largest increase in cost between 2021/22 and 2022/23 in England, with an increase of £280 million.