What does last year's NHS spend on pharma look like?

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What does last year’s NHS spend on pharma look like?

10th December 2018 | Andrew Norman

What does last year’s NHS spend on pharma look like?

Reporting by The King’s Fund this year, revealed that total NHS spending on medicines in England rose from around £13 billion in 2010/11 to £17.4 billion in 2016/17. It also revealed that the average reported growth of around 5 per cent a year is outstripping growth in the total NHS budget.

What do these numbers look like?

As specialists in managing and enhancing large and difficult to interpret datasets, we used our next-generation toolkit, RX Analyser, to create a clear, visual interpretation of last year’s NHS pharma spend.

Drilling down to details

When looking at how the health service controls spending on medicines, the King’s Fund reports increased controls on spending and promoting value for money.

A key part of the new guidance is that low-value medicines (e.g., herbal treatments and some painkillers) and products that are widely available over the counter (e.g., for minor illnesses such as coughs and colds) shouldn’t be routinely prescribed in primary care.

NHS Medicines Provision

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