Published 9 June 2022.
Summary
Prescription Cost Analysis (PCA) provides details of the costs and volumes of all prescriptions dispensed in the community in England.
We consulted on the content and methodology used in this publication during winter 2020/21. View our response to this consultation.
As a result of this consultation, we have made changes to the methodology used in these statistics and expanded their content. You can view more information on these changes in the Background Information and Methodology note that accompanies this release.
The Prescription Cost Analysis (PCA) publication is a National Statistic release. National Statistics status means that PCA meets the highest standards of trustworthiness, quality, and public value and complies with all aspects of the Code of Practice for Statistics.
The designation of this publication as a National Statistic was confirmed in May 2021 following an assessment by the Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR). You can read more about this confirmation and the assessment of these statistics on the OSR website.
Key findings
- The cost of prescription items dispensed in the community in England was £9.69 billion. This was a 0.87% increase of £83.7 million from £9.61 billion in 2020/21.
- The number of prescription items dispensed in the community in England was 1.14 billion. This was a 2.58% increase of 28.7 million items from 1.11 billion in 2020/21.
- Atorvastatin was the most dispensed drug in England in 2021/22 with 53.4 million items, while Apixaban was the drug with the highest cost of £401 million.
- FreeStyle Libre 2 Sensor kit was the presentation with the largest absolute increase in cost between 2020/21 and 2021/22 of £69.8 million – from £2.84 million to £72.6 million.
Resource list
Prescription Cost Analysis England 2021/22 - Statistical Summary Narrative (HTML)
National Summary Tables - Financial year (Excel: 4.8MB)
National Summary Tables - Calendar year (Excel: 4.8MB)
STP Summary Tables - Financial year (Excel: 92MB)
STP Summary Tables - Calendar year (Excel: 92MB)
Additional Tables (Excel: 104KB)
Presentation data 2014 to 2021
Background information and methodology note (ODT: 276KB)
User engagement strategy (ODT: 228KB)
Pre-release access list (ODT: 217KB)
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Links to other versions
You can view:
- Prescription Cost Analysis for Scotland on the Public Health Scotland website
- Prescription Cost Analysis for Wales on the Welsh Assembly Government website
- Prescription Cost Analysis for Northern Ireland on the Health and Social Care Northern Ireland website
Previous versions
You can view:
- previous Prescription Cost Analysis publications produced by NHS Business Services Authority (2019 onwards)
- previous Prescription Cost Analysis publications produced by NHS Digital (2004 to 2018)
- previous Prescription Cost Analysis publications produced by the Department of Health and Social Care (1998 to 2003)
Monthly data
You can view:
Contact us
If you have any questions, comments, or would like more information you can email statistics@nhsbsa.nhs.uk
Responsible statistician: Graham Platten