The number of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) items prescribed in England increased by 1.8 million between 2024-25 and 2025-26, according to the NHS Business Services Authority.
The data revealed 17 million HRT items were prescribed in 2025-26 compared with 15 million the year before. The number of patients prescribed HRT also increased, from 3.1 million compared with 2.8 million in 2024-25.
The British National Formulary presentation with the highest number of prescribed items was micronised progesterone 100mg capsules with two million items.
More than twice as many patients received HRT prescribing in the least deprived areas of the country compared with the most deprived in 2025-26.
Between April and June 2026, 4.5 million HRT items were prescribed, an increase of 16 per cent from 3.9 million items during the same period last year.
In June this year, 1.6 million items were prescribed to about 1.1 million patients, a 19 per cent increase from 1.3 million items prescribed in June 2025.
The data also revealed more patients are using the HRT prescription prepayment certificate (PPC), which allows patients to make a one-off payment of £19.80 to cover NHS prescription charges for an unlimited number of HRT medicines for 12 months.
The HRT PPC was used for 21 per cent of HRT items in 2024-25 and increased to 23 per cent in 2025-26.
