Prescription Drugs
(asked on 17th November 2014) - View Source
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much his Department has spent on licensed drugs in each of the last four years.
Information on National Health Service expenditure on drugs is in the table. It is not possible to determine if a drug is prescribed within its licensed indication as information on the condition for which a drug is prescribed is not available.
Year | Primary Care1 £m | Secondary Care2 £m | Total £m |
2010-11 | 8,280 | 4,257 | 12,537 |
2011-12 | 8,243 | 4,482 | 12,725 |
2012-13 | 7,887 | 5,055 | 12,942 |
2013-14 | 8,015 | 5,324 | 13,339 |
Sources:
Primary care figures are from primary care trusts’ audited summarisation schedules and Department of Health annual accounts.
Secondary care figures are from NHS trusts’ finance returns and Foundation Trust year-end accounts.
Notes:
1 Primary care figures include amounts paid to pharmacy and appliance contractors by the NHS Business Services Authority and amounts authorised for dispensing doctors and personal administration in England. The data include the cost of dressings and appliances but do not cover costs for drugs prescribed in hospital but dispensed in the community or private prescriptions.
2 Secondary care expenditure on drugs includes medical gases. Drugs prescribed in hospitals but dispensed in the community are also included.