NHS Launches Latest Report On Prescribing Costs

NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) has released a report on Prescribing Costs in Hospitals and the Community for England in 2022-23.

The total cost to NHS commissioners in England, for the issue of medicines, appliances, and medical devices in 2022/23 is estimated to be £18.5 billion.

This includes a deduction of £674 million for central rebates. The total cost without central rebates was £19.2 billion, an increase of 7.99% from £17.8 billion in 2021/22.

In 2022/23, the cost to NHS commissioners in England for medicines prescribed in primary care and dispensed in the community was £9.59 billion (50% of total expenditure).

Medicines prescribed and dispensed in the community, by hospitals, cost £93.6 million; and by dentists cost £32.4 million. Medicines prescribed and dispensed in adult prisons and detention centres cost £24.9 million.

The cost of medicines issued in hospitals was £9.45 billion (49.2% of total expenditure).

In 2022/23, drugs within the BNF (drugs category) ‘Malignant Disease and Immunosuppression’ had the highest spend – £3.26 billion for items dispensed in the community. This was the Net Ingredient Cost (NIC), i.e. before any discounts. Of this spend, £3.09 billion was for medicines issued and dispensed in hospitals.

The average costs per capita when using NIC for items dispensed in the community for medicines, appliances, and medical devices prescribed in England in 2022/23 across all settings was £349. This is an increase from £324 in 2021/22.

To read the full report go to https://www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/statistical-collections/prescribing-costs-hospitals-and-community-england.