Prescriptions: Costs

(asked on 19th October 2018) - View Source

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the costs to the public purse are of dispensing a prescription item in (a) a pharmacy which dispensed an average number of prescription items in the latest period for which figures are available, (b) a pharmacy which dispensed the highest number of prescription items in the latest period for which figures are available and (c) a pharmacy which dispensed the lowest number of prescription items in the latest period for which figures are available; if he will list average costs to the public purse of dispensing a prescription item in (i) a pharmacy which is in the top quartile of all pharmacies for the number of prescription items it dispenses and (ii) a pharmacy which is in the bottom quartile of all pharmacies for the number of prescription items it dispenses; and if he will make a statement.


Answered by
Steve Brine Portrait
Steve Brine
This question was answered on 29th October 2018

The following table shows the average fee relating to essential services per prescription item for pharmacies with different levels of dispensing activity for the period 2017/18.

Number of Prescription Items Dispensed 2017/18

Total Fees relating to Essential Services* 2017/18

Average fee per prescription item 2017/18

Minimum

1

£1.29

£1.29

Lowest Quartile

54,470

£97,520

£1.79

Median

79,138

£130,826

£1.65

Top Quartile

111,404

£170,158

£1.53

Maximum

2,925,671

£3,869,711

£1.32

Mean

87,996

£140,235

£1.59

Distance selling pharmacies** (mean)

61,117

£102,621

£1.68

Notes:

*We have calculated total fees as the sum of all essential service fees, including establishment payments and quality payments. It excludes any advanced service fees as these are payments for activity not related to dispensing. Any funding received via retained medicine margin, and any payments relating to the Pharmacy Access Scheme have similarly been excluded from this analysis and so would need to be separately considered.

** Includes internet pharmacies

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