Data are not collected on the numbers of registered people with diabetes who have access to blood testing strips.
The following table shows the number of blood glucose monitoring strips dispensed in England from 1997 to 20061.
Items 1997 1,971,463 1998 2,438,640 1999 2,857,441 2000 3,372,897 2001 3,987,930 2002 4,702,845 2003 5,077,542 2004 5,330,313 2005 5,553,611 20061 4,263,166 1 2006—figures are for the first nine months only
PCA Data
Prescription information is taken from the Prescription Cost Analysis (PCA) system, supplied by the Prescription Pricing Authority (PPA), and is based on a full analysis of all prescriptions dispensed in the community i.e. by community pharmacists and appliance contractors, dispensing doctors, and prescriptions submitted by prescribing doctors for items personally administered in England. Also included are prescriptions written in Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and the Isle of Man but dispensed in England. The data do not cover drugs dispensed in hospitals, including mental health trusts, or private prescriptions.
Prescription Items
Prescriptions are written on a prescription form. Each single item written on the form is counted as a prescription item. A person with diabetes may get more than one prescription item each year.