The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 270 No 7250 p712
24 May 2003
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More than 617 million prescriptions were dispensed in England last yearMore than 617 million prescriptions for medicines worth over £6.8bn were dispensed in England in 2002, according to detailed statistics issued by the Department of Health. The number of prescriptions was up 5.1 per cent on the previous year, while the cost rose by 11.4 per cent. Cardiovascular products continue to make up the largest category of prescribing, with 162 million prescription items being dispensed at a net ingredient cost (NIC) of £1.7bn. In this section both lipid lowering drugs and antihypertensives contribute most of the top 10 pharmaceutical products measured by NIC. Over 7.1 million prescriptions for various strengths of Zocor (simvastatin) cost a total of £255m during 2002. This product has recently come off patent. When the prescription data are sorted by the number of prescriptions written, rather than by cost, different patterns emerge. The most commonly prescribed medicines are dispersible aspirin 75mg tablets (15.1 million prescriptions at an NIC of £7.1m), bendroflumethiazide 2.5mg tablets (13.9 million, £15.8m), co-proxamol tablets (8.4 million, £11.5m), atenolol 50mg tablets (7.9 million, £10.6m) and paracetamol 500mg tablets (7.4 million, £6.3m). The products dispensed in the largest quantities were Ensure Plus and Fortisip with 2.7 million litres and 1.6 million litres dispensed, respectively. The figures are based on prescriptions written by general practitioners, dentists and hospital doctors and dispensed in the community in England. Hospital dispensing is not included. Copies of the figures (PDF 1.4 MB) and an associated spreadsheet (Microsoft Excel spreadsheet, 3.9 MB or Zip file, 1.3 MB) can be downloaded from the Department of Health website. |
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