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The number of prescription items dispensed in England increased by three per cent between 2024-25 and 2025-26 according to the latest figures released by the NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA).

The NHSBSA’s Prescription Cost Analysis, which showed 1.3 billion prescription items were dispensed at a cost of £11.6 billion in 2025-26, also revealed the top 10 most dispensed medicines in order of volume.

Atorvastatin was first with 78 million items followed by Amlodipine (41.2 million items), Lansoprazole (37.9 million items), Ramipril (36.3 million items) and Omeprazole (35.6 million items).

Sixth on the list was Levothyroxine sodium (35 million items) followed by the beta-blocker Bisoprolol fumarate (31.3 million items), Colecalciferol (29.2 million items), Metformin hydrochloride (27.4 million items) and the antidepressant Sertraline hydrochloride (25.8 million items).

“Atorvastatin falls under British National Formulary (BNF) Chapter 2 – Cardiovascular System, which was the largest BNF chapter for community dispensing in 2025-26,” the NHSBSA said.

“During this period, 392 million items were dispensed from this chapter, representing 30 per cent of all items dispensed in the community.

“Four of the top 10 medicines dispensed in the community in England are listed under Chapter 2 - Cardiovascular System; Atorvastatin, Amlodipine, Ramipril and Bisoprolol fumarate.”