Your guide to
prescription costs
Trusted NHS partner since 1999
Regulated Pharmacy since 1997
Proudly serving over 750,000 patients
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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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What our patients say
Rated excellent with 400,000+ reviews as of October 2023
Worry free service
This service has taken all the worry out of ordering repeat perscriptions. They remind you when perscriptions are due & they are posted & within a couple of days they are there on your door mat. Exemplary service. Thank you.
Hester Pendino
Great service
Great service. With good liaison with my GP. And order always efficiently delivered. So much easier than queueing at the local chemist. I started using Pharmacy2U during the pandemic and no turning back.
Hilary Simpson
The help line staff were excellent
The help line staff were excellent, they understood my issue straightaway, told me they would need to speak to a line manager and would get back to me. The same person got back to me later in the day with an answer, issue resolved
Linda Lauren
Great user friendly service
This is a very easy service to use.
I order my medication online from the drs it goes straight through to Pharmacy2U they confirm they have received it and it is sent out for delivery. With emails keeping me informed of its status all along the way.
Neil Etheridge
I get reminders when I need to order
I get reminders when I need to order. It is easy to order and I get updates to let me know how my order is progressing. Within a very short time it is put out for delivery. It is then up to Royal Mail to post it through my letterbox.
Janet Tittensor
Losing the monthly stress
Being able to request my prescription from the doctors and knowing that the items I require will be delivered to my door without delay. Originally I would go to the pharmacy after a 5 day wait to find that my prescription was not ready, so thank you for making my life easier.
Pat Cruttenden
Excellent service
Excellent service. Timely as ever. Prompted by P2U to re-order. From sending order to receipt was 7 days. Excellent as it includes GP’s approval sign off.
Ceijag