December 2022 in numbers
NHS community prescribing in England (Prescription Cost Analysis).
101,934,391items
Dispensed in December 2022
NHSBSA Prescription Cost Analysis
£930,132,591
Net ingredient cost, December 2022
NHSBSA PCA
Most-dispensed medicines
Download full month (CSV)| Medicine | Items | Net ingredient cost |
|---|---|---|
| Atorvastatin | 5,091,217 | £6,213,066 |
| Amlodipine | 3,012,867 | £2,928,570 |
| Omeprazole | 2,991,295 | £16,237,695 |
| Levothyroxine sodium | 2,861,558 | £4,636,907 |
| Lansoprazole | 2,832,942 | £3,998,798 |
| Ramipril | 2,731,112 | £3,762,855 |
| Bisoprolol fumarate | 2,378,503 | £2,520,839 |
| Colecalciferol | 2,185,393 | £8,568,537 |
| Metformin hydrochloride | 2,084,211 | £6,922,401 |
| Salbutamol | 2,047,371 | £6,226,842 |
| Sertraline hydrochloride | 1,871,247 | £2,922,357 |
| Aspirin | 1,730,345 | £1,420,313 |
Biggest risers
Largest month-on-month rise in items (medicines above 10,000 items).
| Medicine | Items | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Erythromycin ethylsuccinate | 55,241 | +164.0% |
| Phenoxymethylpenicillin (Penicillin V) | 482,902 | +74.3% |
| Doxycycline hyclate | 612,932 | +70.1% |
| Amoxicillin | 1,695,381 | +65.2% |
| Clarithromycin | 302,850 | +54.7% |
| Erythromycin | 47,773 | +54.4% |
| Prednisolone | 786,002 | +28.2% |
| Chloramphenicol | 105,624 | +27.1% |
Biggest fallers
Largest month-on-month fall in items.
| Medicine | Items | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Influenza | 1,452,663 | −36.5% |
| Temazepam | 16,255 | −29.5% |
| Levonorgestrel | 10,634 | −22.1% |
| Tracheostomy & Laryngectomy Appliances | 14,866 | −20.5% |
| Fluorouracil (Sunscreen) | 17,259 | −20.2% |
| Sodium fluoride | 105,058 | −17.2% |
| Adapalene and benzoyl peroxide | 21,336 | −15.7% |
| Mefenamic acid | 20,107 | −15.1% |
Download this data
Every medicine dispensed in December 2022 is in this month's CSV. For the full monthly history — the national headline series, and the top 500 medicines ranked in every month — see the headline series and most-prescribed medicines datasets in our open data catalogue.