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Notes for B4

Figures for "all prescriptions" cover all prescription items dispensed in the community in England, by community pharmacists and appliance contractors, dispensing doctors, and prescriptions submitted by prescribing doctors for items personally administered.

Before 2001 figures for "exempt prescriptions" were based on a 1 in 20 sample of all prescriptions submitted to the Prescription Pricing Authority by community pharmacists and appliance contractors only.  From 2001 onwards the sample also includes prescriptions submitted by dispensing doctors.

"Exempt prescriptions" covers the categories elderly people, young people, war pensioners, exemption certificates (previously Health Authority exemption certificates), NHS low Income Scheme Charge Remission (NHS LIS), no charge contraceptives and from 2001 onwards personally administered items. Personally administered items have always been free, but were not included in the data before 2001 because they were not identified separately.

NHS LIS includes recipients of Working Families Tax Credit (Family Credit before October 1999), Income Support, Income based Job Seekers Allowance, Disabled Persons Tax Credit (Disability Working Allowance before October 1999), and others who qualify on the grounds of low income.

Dressings and appliances have been excluded in calculating the percentages of drugs dispensed and prescribed generically.

The graph shows the percentages of the total number of all prescription items and the total net ingredient cost for the top six British National Formulary (BNF) chapters, in terms of net ingredient cost, for all prescriptions dispensed in the community in England in 2002. The figures show that drugs dispensed in the community for cardiovascular treatment accounted for the largest proportion of both total net ingredient cost (25 per cent) and total number of prescription items (26 per cent).

The net ingredient cost (NIC) is the basic cost of a drug and does not take account of discounts, dispensing costs, fees or prescription charges income.

Figures for Average prescription items per head and Average NIC per head have been updated using revised population estimates following the 2001 Census.

Some drugs were incorrectly allocated to "Of Which Class 2" in the years 2000 and 2001. As a result "prescribed generically" figures for 2000 are unreliable. Figures for 2001 have been corrected.

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