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Prescriptions for hormone replacement therapy (HRT) have increased by 47% in one year, according to new data from the NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA).
The report, Hormone Replacement Therapy [HRT] – England – April 2015 to June 2023, also found that 11 million items were prescribed for HRT last year for an estimated 2.3 million identified patients, which is a 29% increase from 2021/22.
More than twice as many patients were prescribed HRT drugs in the least deprived areas compared to the most deprived.
In addition, the proportion of HRT prescribing that is exempt from prescription charges has increased from April 2023, reversing a downwards trend from 2015/16 onwards. This coincides with the introduction of the HRT Prescription Prepayment Certificate (PPC), which covers an unlimited number of listed HRT medicines for 12 months, for the cost of two single prescription charges, currently £19.30. It is available to buy online at www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/hrt-ppc, or in-person at some pharmacies.
In 2022/23 Utrogestan 100mg capsules had the most prescribed items with 935,000 total items. This is more than double than the 458,000 items in 2021/22.
The most common group to receive prescribing for HRT in 2022/23 was patients aged 50 to 54. This group had an estimated 580,000 identified patients, 24.6% of all identified patients. The next most common groups were patients aged 55 to 59 with 466,000 and 19.8% of identified patients, and patients aged 45 to 49 with 344,000 and 14.6% of identified patients.
Women need to try different types of HRT
The report includes all drugs that are covered by the HRT PCC and aims to describe the prescribing of HRT medications in a primary care setting in England that are dispensed in the community. This does not include data on medicines used in secondary care, prisons, or issued by a private prescriber.
Minister for Women’s Health Strategy, Maria Caulfield said at the time of the HRT PCC that great progress has been made in raising the profile of health issues affecting women, including symptoms of the menopause.
She added: “Often its necessary to use more than one type of HRT, and many women I have spoken to needed to try a few different types to get the right medication that works for them.
“Everyone is different, and price should not be a barrier to treatment – reducing the price of a year’s worth of HRT to under £20 is a huge moment of levelling the playing field.”