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The cost of prescription items dispensed in the community in England has increased by 4% in a year, from £11.2bn in 2024/2025 to £11.6bn in 2025/2026.
Data published by the NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) also show a 3% increase in the number of prescription items dispensed, from 1.26 billion items in 2024/2025 to 1.3 billion items in 2025/2026.
This is the fifth year in a row that the number of prescription items dispensed has increased and the seventh year in a row that the cost has risen.
NHSBSA said that since 2016/2017, the number of prescription items has risen by 17%, an increase of 190 million items, while the cost of items dispensed has risen by 27%, an increase of £2.4bn, during the same period.
The data also show that atorvastatin, commonly used to lower cholesterol and prevent heart disease, was the most dispensed medicine in 2025/2026, with 78 million items dispensed, up 7% from the previous year.
Atorvastatin has been the most commonly dispensed medicine since 2016/2017. It is classified as a Chapter 2 drug in the British National Formulary (BNF).
In a press release published alongside the data, NHSBSA said that Chapter 2 was the largest BNF chapter for dispensing in 2025/2026, with 392 million items dispensed, accounting for 30% of all items dispensed in the community.
It added that the cost of Chapter 2 items dispensed in 2025/2026 was £1.2bn, accounting for 10% of total costs for the financial year.
Commenting on the report, Henry Gregg, chief executive of the National Pharmacy Association said: “This is yet more data showing that workload pressures are higher than ever on community pharmacies, with pharmacies dispensing more prescriptions than ever before despite the network being at its smallest for 20 years.
“The cost of medication is trending relentlessly upwards. The government needs to step in to stabilise the situation and bring an end to pharmacies dispensing at a loss due to soaring prices.
“It’s clear that pharmacies are dealing with record volumes of medication and need the support from the government to meet this huge demand, as well as invest in clinical services for patients.”
Malcolm Harrison, chief executive of the Company Chemists’ Association, said: “The increase in prescription volumes and costs reflects a continued rise in workload expected from community pharmacies, with pharmacy teams having to manage growing demand while maintaining timely access to medicines.
“The recently announced uplift to the community pharmacy contractual framework is a welcome step in recognising these pressures, but much of that increase will be used to address the continued growth in workload. The uplift will also be needed to cover the rising cost of doing business in the UK, such as increases in National Insurance contributions, minimum wage and business rates.
“Ensuring real term increases in funding is essential to attaining a more sustainable model for community pharmacy. This will be key to maintaining patient access, supporting safe medicines supply, and enabling the sector to continue meeting rising demands.”
In October 2025, a report published by NHSBSA revealed community pharmacies in England had dispensed a “record number” of prescriptions, despite the number of community pharmacies being at its lowest level since 2015/2016.
