FOI-03849

Request   You asked us:  ' I would like to understand the drugs dispensed within contraceptive consultations that occur in pharmacies.   NHS produce a dataset which shows the volume of consultations, by pharmacy, and also the type of consultation this is (emergency/new/ongoing). I would like a report which gives me the BNF codes of the drugs dispensed within the consultation, covering the last 12 months. I would like the output to give me monthly totals by pharmacy (or ICB if pharmacy is not possible). if it is possible to provide, similar to GP prescribing data, the NIC, Qty and Items for each ICB/pharmacy.’   The NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) received your request on 21 May 2026.   We have handled your request under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) 2000.    Our response   I can confirm that the NHSBSA holds the information you have requested. Please read the below notes to ensure correct understanding of the data. I can confirm that the NHSBSA holds the information you have requested and a copy of the information is attached.  Please read the below notes to ensure correct understanding of the data.  Number of Consultations and Items dispensed for the NHS Pharmacy Contraception Advanced Service, aggregated by BNF Presentation and Pharmacy Contractor   NHS Prescription Services process prescriptions for Pharmacy Contractors, Appliance Contractors, Dispensing Doctors and Personal Administration with information then used to make payments to pharmacists and appliance contractors in England for prescriptions dispensed in primary care settings (other arrangements are in place for making payments to Dispensing Doctors and Personal Administration). This involves processing over 1 billion prescription items and payments totalling over £9 billion each year. The information gathered from this process is then used to provide information on costs and trends in prescribing in England and Wales to over 25,000 registered NHS and Department of Health and Social Care users.  Data Source   Data in ePACT2 is sourced from the NHSBSA Information Services Data Warehouse and is derived from products prescribed on prescriptions and dispensed in the Community. The data captured from prescription processing is used to calculate reimbursement and remuneration. It includes items prescribed in England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, Guernsey / Alderney, Jersey and Isle of Man which have been dispensed in the community in England. English prescribing that has been dispensed in Wales, Scotland, Guernsey / Alderney, Jersey and Isle of Man is also included.  The Data excludes:   Items not dispensed, disallowed and those returned to the contractor for further clarification.   Prescriptions prescribed and dispensed in Prisons, Hospitals and Private prescriptions.  Items prescribed but not presented for dispensing or not submitted to NHS Prescription Services by the dispenser.  This dataset   The data indicates the number of Contraception Advanced Services consultations that have taken place during the time stated, as well as any items that have been dispensed and claimed for following a consultation.  The data is aggregated by individual Pharmacy Contractors- the relevant ICB, BNF Presentation and the Net Ingredient Cost of the item are also provided.  In cases where a consultation has taken place and no item has been dispensed, the column BNF_PRESENTATION is marked as ‘Clinical Pathway Consultation Only’. Two separate columns are provided highlighting the total number of consultations, and items dispensed.  Time Period   Monthly data – March 2025-February 2026. Data is aggregated monthly.  Organisation Data   The data is provided for English Pharmacy Contractors- both the pharmacy name and registered Trading Name (if one is held) is provided.  A date with the letter 'C' in brackets - example (C 01-Feb-26) against a contractor indicates that this organisation is closed as of the date stated.  BNF Code   The BNF Code is a 15-digit code in which the first seven digits are allocated according to the categories in the BNF and the last 8 digits represent the medicinal product, form, strength and the link to the generic equivalent product. NHS Prescription Services has created pseudo BNF chapters, which are not published, for items not included in BNF chapters 1 to 15. The majority of such items are dressings and appliances which NHS Prescription Services has classified into four pseudo BNF chapters (20 to 23).   Advanced Services Schemes- Contraception   The data indicates which of the three NHS Pharmacy Contraception Advanced Service consultations has taken place on each occasion- Initiation, Ongoing or Emergency. Please note that data relating to Emergency Oral Consultations is only available from October 2025 onwards.  Items   Indicates the number of Items dispensed to a patient following a consultation- occasions where no medication was dispensed are recorded as 0.  Quantity   Indicates the individual Quantity of a Presentation dispensed to a patient following a consultation- occasions where no medication was dispensed are recorded as 0.  Net Ingredient Cost   Net Ingredient cost (NIC) is the basic price of a drug as stated in Part II Clause 8 of the Drug Tariff but please note that where a price concession for items listed in Part VIII of the Drug Tariff has been agreed between the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) and the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee the NIC will reflect the concession price rather than the Drug Tariff price.  NIC is given in Pounds Sterling. Occasions where no medication was dispensed are recorded as 0.  Please note-  March 2025 data was processed at the time using a different system that does not store itemised NIC. Therefore, NIC values provided for this month are based on estimated NIC values (when held in our systems) that may not match actual payment values.  Data Queries   Please contact  [email protected]  ensuring you quote the above reference if you have any specific questions regarding this response; or, if you feel you may be misunderstanding or misinterpreting the information; or, if you plan on publishing the data.  Reusing the data and copyright   If you plan on producing a press or broadcast story based upon the data please contact  [email protected] . This is important to ensure that the figures are not misunderstood or misrepresented.  The information supplied to you continues to be protected by the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 and is subject to NHSBSA copyright. This information is licenced under the terms of the Open Government Licence detailed at:  http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/    Should you wish to re-use the information you must include the following statement: “ePACT2, NHSBSA Copyright 2026”. Failure to do so is a breach of the terms of the licence.  Information you receive which is not subject to NHSBSA Copyright continues to be protected by the copyright of the person, or organisation, from which the information originated. Please obtain their permission before reproducing any third party (non NHSBSA Copyright) information.