Over reliance on repeat prescriptions is costing the NHS almost £8 BILLION a year – its biggest cost after staff and almost half its total spend on medicine.
A new report produced by the University of Bradford’s Dr Duncan Petty has revealed that almost half of the population are reliant on repeat prescriptions, with 231 million more expected to be dispensed each year by 2039.
Diabetes is the most common and costly repeat prescription for the NHS with over £82 million being spent each year to treat it.
Currently over 800 million items of repeat medicines are currently dispensed each year, but this number is expected to spiral over the next 25 years as a result of an increasingly older population living with more long-term conditions.
It is estimated that by 2025 the number of people living with long-term health conditions will increase by nearly one million putting further strain on the NHS.
Mark Livingstone, CEO of Pharmacy2U, comments: “The report makes it clear that continued digital transformation is essential in improving patient access to healthcare and helping to relieve the strain on the NHS.
“Technology has transformed industries from retail and entertainment to travel and leisure and it is now making a significant and much needed mark on healthcare.
“We have invested heavily in our technological infrastructure and are on a mission to help modernise healthcare and improve patient outcome in partnership with the NHS by managing repeat prescriptions from request to delivery, which relieves both the time and stress put on GPs, represents better value to the NHS and improves patient medicine adherence.”
The Repeat Prescription Report – 60″ from Pharmacy2U on Vimeo.
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