Prescriptions for diabetes drugs rises according to latest NHS report

NHS report reveals that 15% of the total spend on prescribed treatments is on diabetes drugs. 

An NHS report has revealed that in 2022/23, there were 66 million drug items used in treating diabetes prescribed in England for a cost of £1.53 billion, 15% of the total spend on all prescription items prescribed in England.

The figures were published in the NHS Business Services Authority’s (NHSBSA) Prescribing for Diabetes 2015/16 to 2022/23 statistical report.

This represented an increase of 16 million items and £570 million from 2015/16 where 50 million diabetes items were prescribed in England for a cost of £960 million, representing 10% of the total spend on all prescription items.

The most prescribed drugs used in treating diabetes in England were antidiabetic drugs in 2022/23 with 49 million items at a cost of £880 million. The costs of antidiabetic drugs have also increased by 107% since 2015/16 from £420 million.

There were 3.4 million identified patients that were prescribed drugs used in diabetes in England in 2022/23. This was a 6% increase from 3.2 million identified patients in 2021/22, and a 26% increase from 2.7 million in 2015/16.

Male patients, aged 60 to 64, were the most common group to receive prescribing for drugs used in diabetes in 2022/23with 250,000 identified patients. The next most common groups were male patients aged 65 to 69, and male patients aged 70 to 74.

The highest number of identified patients who were being prescribed drugs used in treating diabetes in 2022/23 were in areas of greater deprivation. There were 320,000 more patients in the most deprived areas of the country, compared to the least deprived.

Read the NHS Prescribing for Diabetes 2015/16 to 2022/23