Pain

Prescribing data on pain medications

Treating pain accounts for a large proportion of all primary care prescribing. Pain as a therapy area represents 7% of all prescription items in English community prescribing, the fourth highest of any area by prescription items. Opioid analgesics make up the highest spend on community prescriptions for pain management, at over £220 million per year.

Compound analgesics account for another £100 million.

Prescriptions for non-opioid analgesics have reduced following NHS prescribing guidelines on low-value medicines easily available over the counter. 

The RxIndices below monitor branded prescribing in the fentanyl transdermal patches market and the overall opioid analgesics market.