Top 10 disease areas by prescription number
01 October 2010
Cardiovascular drugs account for a third of prescriptions in primary care, but just a fifth of drug spending, figures from the NHS Information Centre show.
Four of the five most commonly prescribed drugs are used to treat cardiovascular disease (CVD): simvastatin, aspirin, ramipril and bendroflumethiazide.
These four drugs account for almost 13% of all prescription items, but represent just 2% of drug costs, Information Centre data show.
More prescriptions are written for drugs for cardiovascular disease than all the combined prescriptions for medicines used to treat infections, obstetrics, gynaecology, urinary tract diseases and disorders of the respiratory system, nutrition and blood, skin, muscle, bone and joints.
| Top 10 disease areas by prescription number | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Cardiovascular system |
277.2 million |
| 2. | 154.6 million | |
| 3. | 77.2 million | |
| 4 | 68.7 million | |
| 5. | 57.8 million | |
| 6. | 45.4 million | |
| 7. | Nutrition and blood |
40.8 million |
| 8. | Skin |
38.6 million |
| 9. | 30.2 million | |
| 10. | Obstetrics, gynaecology & urinary-tract disorders | 20.3 million |
Source: NHS Information Centre
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