December 2024 in numbers
Dispensed in December 2024
NHSBSA Prescription Cost Analysis
Net ingredient cost, December 2024
NHSBSA PCA
Figure 1. The most-dispensed medicines in England, December 2024
Source: NHSBSA English Prescribing Dataset
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Most-dispensed medicines
Download full month (CSV)| Medicine | Items | Net ingredient cost |
|---|---|---|
| Atorvastatin | 6,277,444 | £8,255,615 |
| Amlodipine | 3,392,925 | £2,928,748 |
| Lansoprazole | 3,126,692 | £4,127,224 |
| Omeprazole | 3,043,269 | £8,525,838 |
| Ramipril | 3,001,137 | £3,959,380 |
| Levothyroxine sodium | 2,938,033 | £4,061,801 |
| Bisoprolol fumarate | 2,582,078 | £2,151,879 |
| Colecalciferol | 2,402,610 | £9,055,669 |
| Metformin hydrochloride | 2,268,277 | £7,774,872 |
| Sertraline hydrochloride | 2,093,291 | £4,330,713 |
| Salbutamol | 1,749,873 | £6,182,334 |
| Aspirin | 1,719,258 | £1,298,387 |
Biggest risers
Largest month-on-month rise in items (medicines above 10,000 items).
| Medicine | Items | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Other individually formulated bought in preparations | 33,933 | +51.0% |
| Phenazone/lidocaine | 16,558 | +28.6% |
| Doxycycline hyclate | 474,322 | +23.9% |
| Amoxicillin | 1,125,021 | +23.3% |
| Oral rehydration salts | 16,442 | +21.5% |
| Phenoxymethylpenicillin (Penicillin V) | 299,320 | +20.1% |
| Clarithromycin | 208,994 | +17.8% |
| Typhoid | 45,345 | +15.1% |
Biggest fallers
Largest month-on-month fall in items.
| Medicine | Items | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Influenza | 1,010,651 | −39.2% |
| Fluorouracil (Sunscreen) | 17,879 | −21.1% |
| Permethrin | 23,118 | −14.2% |
| Miconazole nitrate | 39,665 | −14.0% |
| Sodium fluoride | 110,282 | −13.4% |
| Peak Flow Meters | 28,045 | −12.6% |
| Tracheostomy & Laryngectomy Appliances | 16,644 | −12.3% |
| Lymphoedema Garments | 49,054 | −10.0% |
Download this data
Every medicine dispensed in December 2024 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.