Published 7 November 2024
Publication
Summary
This publication shows the costs of medicines, appliances, dressings and medical devices prescribed within primary and secondary care in England. We use ‘medicines’ as a short-hand for ‘medicines, appliances, dressings and medical devices’.
This publication is an Official Statistics release. It is produced in line with the standards set out in the Code of Practice for statistics.
The statistics in this publication detail:
• cost breakdowns by financial year and month within each setting
• cost breakdowns by BNF Chapter and BNF Section level by financial year and setting
• financial year cost breakdowns in each setting by Integrated Care Board (ICB)
• a view of the data down to financial year, BNF Chapter, BNF Section and ICB combined
This publication uses 2 cost measures, Net Ingredient Cost (NIC) and Actual Cost. Definitions of these cost measures can be found in the statistical summary narrative and the background and methodology note.
We use Net Ingredient Costs (NIC) for items dispensed in the community, and Actual Costs for items issued in hospitals and the Adult Secure Estate. However, in order to provide a more complete measure of the total cost to NHS commissioners for the provision of medicines in England, we also show the Actual Cost for items dispensed in the community, at national level.
Key findings
The total cost to NHS commissioners (known as Actual Cost) for the issue of medicines in 2023/24 in England, is estimated to be £19.9 billion. This includes a deduction of £631 million for central rebates. The total cost without central rebates was £20.6 billion, an increase of 7% from £19.2 billion in 2022/23.
This £20.6 billion is made up of:
• £10.1 billion for medicines prescribed in primary care and dispensed in the community
• £10.3 billion for medicines issued in hospitals
• £98.4 million for medicines prescribed in hospitals and dispensed in the community
• £32.8 million for medicines prescribed by dentists and dispensed in the community
• £26.8 million for medicines prescribed and dispensed in the Adult Secure Estate
Resource list
Supporting summary tables (Excel: 2.6MB)Background information and methodology note (HTML)Pre-release access list (HTML)
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Responsible statistician: The Official Statistics Team