The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 277 No 7430 p680
9 December 2006

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Hospital prescribing costs up, community costs down

The cost of medicines used in hospitals in England rose by 2.3 per cent in 2005 while the cost of prescribing in primary care fell by 2 per cent, according to figures released by the Information Centre for health and social care last week (PDF 120K).

The cost of medicines prescribed in hospital but dispensed in the community rose by 7.4 per cent. In 2004, the corresponding growth figures were 10.7 per cent, 7.5 per cent and 14.8 per cent, respectively.

Compared with 2004, the net ingredients cost for prescribed medicines fell by 0.9 per cent. The previous year (2003–04) saw a rise of 8.2 per cent. Recent controls over drug costs were the main cause of the difference.

Medicines used in hospitals represented 23.1 per cent of the estimated total cost of medicines to the NHS, which is £10.3bn in 2005. The estimated cost of medicines per person in England for 2005 is £203.40.