NHS diabetes prescribing costs more than double to £2.3 billion
New data published by the UK’s National Health Service (NHS) Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) provides insights into prescribing for diabetes in England, including trends in prescription volumes, costs and the types of medicines prescribed.
In 2025/26, 83 million prescription items used to treat diabetes were prescribed to 4.1 million identified patients in England at a total cost of £2.3 billion ($3.1 billion). This represents a 135% increase in costs, when medication prescribed to treat diabetes cost £985 million in 2016/17. It also represents a 60% increase in prescription items from 52 million items in 2016/17.
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