Page 33 - P4304.1-V108_PS Magazine - Apr 25_Neat

In 2005, the average
number of prescription
items dispensed per
person in England was
approximately 14.3 per
year, equating to about
1.19 items per person
per month. 1
This figure represents
a significant increase
from 1995, when the
average was 9.8 items
per person per year. More
recently, 2022-23 estimation
suggests that, on average,
each person in England receives
approximately 1.75 prescription
items per month and data from
Wales for the year 2023-2024 indicates
an average of 25.7 prescription items per
patient annually, equating to about 2.14
items per month.
Of course, many of the new medicines
we have seen emerge over the last 20
years have now been genericised and this
can sometimes skew the way we view our
dispensary’s performance if we are looking
at turnover. Expensive gabapentinoids,
DOACS, glucose test strips, etc, etc,
etc are now available at a fraction of
the price with the value of any margin
being respectively lower. I think this
has probably had a greater impact on
dispensary profitability than we possibly
acknowledge. 20 years ago, so many
more prescription items were branded
and higher cost. Now all as lower cost
generics they relate to far smaller profit
values even if margins are the same. We
are living in a generic world and this is having
a financial impact.
One other important change from 20 years
ago is the way the NHS reimburses for high
volume generic drugs dispensed – is this also
to blame for reduced margins?
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