Your guide to
prescription costs
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Private and NHS prescription charges
In England, there are two main types of prescription. Private prescriptions and prescriptions issued on the NHS.
Private prescriptions can be written by NHS doctors when the medicine is not available through the NHS. They can also be issued by private doctors and healthcare professionals. Charges for private prescriptions vary depending on the treatment. You’ll usually pay a fee for the consultation with the private doctor, and a fee to the issuing pharmacy which will include the full cost of the medicine.
Our online doctor can issue private prescriptions for a range of health conditions.

NHS Prescription fees
NHS prescriptions are issued by healthcare services providing NHS run services such as your local GP and NHS dentist. There is a flat fee in place for all medicines prescribed on the NHS. No matter what the price of an individual item, you’ll pay the same for every medicine available through the NHS.
Charges are usually reviewed annually.
Overview of how prices have changed in recent years
YEAR | FEE | INCREASE |
---|---|---|
2015/16 | £8.20 | 15p |
2016/17 | £8.40 | 20p |
2017/18 | £8.60 | 20p |
2018/19 | £8.80 | 20p |
2019/20 | £9.00 | 20p |
2020/21 | £9.35 | 35p |
2021/22 | £9.35 | 0 |
2022/23 | £9.35 | 0 |
2023/24 | £9.65 | 30p |
Depending on your circumstances, you might qualify for free NHS prescriptions. Our guide to free prescriptions will help you to work out if you’re eligible.
If you don’t quality for free NHS prescriptions, there’s support available to help with your medicine costs. Find out if a prescription prepayment certificate could save you money in our guide.
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