The Pharmaceutical Journal Vol 267 No 7161 p217-221
18 August 2001

This article
Reprint
Photocopy

News summary

Average prescription cost falls

The average cost to the National Health Service in England of a general practice prescription fell in real terms last year (2000) for the first time in at least 10 years. The real terms decrease was 0.4 per cent from 1999, making the average net ingredient cost (NIC) of a GP prescription £10.12.

The average NIC varied across the country from £8.49 to £13.88 per item. The total NIC to the NHS of GP prescribing rose by 5.5 per cent (3.7 per cent in real terms) to £5.585m. Prescription numbers were up by 4.2 per cent to 552 million, making the average number of prescriptions per person 11.0, up from 10.6 in 1999.

Prescriptions Dispensed in the Community, Statistics for 1990 to 2000: England, is available free of charge from the Department of Health, PO Box 777, London SE1 6XH, or here.

Back to Top