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PharmaInsight

Diclofenac diethyl

Musculoskeletal and Joint Diseases Drugs for soft-tissue disorders and topical pain relief BNF 1003020AF
Data updated May 2026 Download CSV

Diclofenac diethyl was ranked 111th of 1,796 medicines by items in May 2026, with 226,102 items, little changed on a year earlier.

226,102items -0.3%

Dispensed in May 2026

2,037,856items

Rolling 12 months

£1,889,765

Net ingredient cost · May 2026

Figure 1. Diclofenac diethyl: national items dispensed by month

0 176k 352k Jan 2021 Nov 2021 Sep 2022 Jul 2023 May 2024 Mar 2025 Jul 2026 351,765 Jan 2021: 160k Feb 2021: 152k Mar 2021: 175k Apr 2021: 171k May 2021: 163k Jun 2021: 176k Jul 2021: 176k Aug 2021: 169k Sep 2021: 180k Oct 2021: 172k Nov 2021: 176k Dec 2021: 179k Jan 2022: 171k Feb 2022: 164k Mar 2022: 189k Apr 2022: 176k May 2022: 188k Jun 2022: 184k Jul 2022: 181k Aug 2022: 188k Sep 2022: 189k Oct 2022: 184k Nov 2022: 187k Dec 2022: 176k Jan 2023: 188k Feb 2023: 175k Mar 2023: 201k Apr 2023: 180k May 2023: 199k Jun 2023: 205k Jul 2023: 199k Aug 2023: 204k Sep 2023: 201k Oct 2023: 201k Nov 2023: 203k Dec 2023: 186k Jan 2024: 207k Feb 2024: 195k Mar 2024: 197k Apr 2024: 208k May 2024: 215k Jun 2024: 203k Jul 2024: 222k Aug 2024: 214k Sep 2024: 213k Oct 2024: 224k Nov 2024: 209k Dec 2024: 205k Jan 2025: 219k Feb 2025: 197k Mar 2025: 213k Apr 2025: 216k May 2025: 227k Jun 2025: 221k Jul 2025: 235k Aug 2025: 219k Sep 2025: 233k Oct 2025: 238k Nov 2025: 215k Dec 2025: 233k Jan 2026: 225k Feb 2026: 210k Mar 2026: 233k Apr 2026: 232k May 2026: 226k Jun 2026: 240k Jul 2026: 352k

Source: NHSBSA Prescription Cost Analysis, to May 2026

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At a glance

  • Therapeutic class Drugs for soft-tissue disorders and topical pain relief
  • Presentations 10 shown
  • Average cost / item £8.36
  • Year on year Little changed on a year earlier
What this is
Net ingredient cost is the list price before discounts and dispensing fees, not what the NHS finally pays.

Top presentations, May 2026

The individual products dispensed under Diclofenac diethyl this month.

Presentations of Diclofenac diethyl, May 2026
Presentation BNF code Items Net ingredient cost
Diclofenac diethylammonium 1.16% gel 1003020AFAAAAAA 123,432 £677,037
Diclofenac diethylammonium 2.32% gel 1003020AFAAABAB 64,055 £881,182
Voltarol 1.16% Emulgel 1003020AFBBAAAA 26,377 £149,220
Voltarol 12 Hour Emulgel P 2.32% gel 1003020AFBBADAB 11,531 £175,391
Voltarol Osteoarthritis Joint Pain Relief 1.16% gel 1003020AFBBABAA 559 £5,464
Voltarol Back & Muscle Pain Relief 1.16% gel 1003020AFBBACAA 121 £1,025
Motusol Max 2.32% gel 1003020AFBCABAB 10 £145
Motusol Max 12 Hour Pain Relief 2.32% gel 1003020AFBCACAB 10 £221
Motusol 1.16% gel 1003020AFBCAAAA 6 £66
Care Pain Relief 2.32% gel 1003020AFBDAAAB 1 £13

Source: NHSBSA Prescription Cost Analysis · to May 2026 OGL v3.0

Where Diclofenac diethyl is dispensed

The regions and dispensing practices with the highest Diclofenac diethyl volumes.

Regional volumes from NHSBSA Prescription Cost Analysis; practice volumes from NHS dispensing data.

Compare Diclofenac diethyl with

Other medicines in the same BNF section, by prescribing volume.

Download this data

The monthly series for Diclofenac diethyl is in this page's CSV. For the ranked national series across every medicine, with the method and caveats documented, see the most-prescribed medicines dataset in our open data catalogue.