FOI-03903

Thank you for your request for information about the following: ##Request You asked us: _We would like to make the following request under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA) for some analysis on prescription data which we believe to be held by NHSBSA._ _We are seeking some information on prescription reimbursement patterns in the population aged 55+ for a particular medicine ("DrugA")._ _We believe this can be achieved within disclosure control protocols using the outline method attached._ _The aim of the request is to answer the question "to what extent are these prescriptions occasional / intermittent, or part of a repeat pattern"._ _For each month in the 36-month period Oct-22 to Sep-25 (inclusive), we are requesting a report showing:_ _Per month, the total number of prescription items for Drug A, which were dispensed to patients of age 55+ in the reporting month, shown grouped by the number of prescriptions for Drug A that those patients received in a wider 13 month prescription “context window” (the window being the current month, the 6 months prior to reporting month, and the 6 months following the reporting month - ie all 13 months, including the reporting month in question)._ _Please see attached for more detail on the output table we are looking for and the method that we believe should be able to achieve this._ _Notes:_ 1. _Patient counts are not requested_ 2. _A breakdown of patient ages is not required_ 3. _Please limit the request to counting prescriptions received by patients who were recorded as being aged 55+ at the time of the reporting month, regardless of their age within the wider reporting window._ 4. _Reporting is requested for the months Oct-22 to Sep-25 (inclusive). This means the earliest date in the first prescribing window is Apr-22 ( 6 months before Oct-22) and the final date in the latest prescribing window is Mar-26 (6 months after Sep-25)._ 5. _DrugA is defined as 0401010ADBBAAAA and/or branded equivalent code 0401010ADBBAAAA, treated as one virtual product._ On the 30 June 2026 you clarified the following: _I can confirm that we intended to include the corresponding generic presentation (0401010ADAAAAAA) and/or any other branded equivalents._ _Re geography, we are interested in prescribing patterns so please include those prescriptions prescribed in England, regardless of where dispensed (England, Wales or Scotland). If for practical reasons the analysis has to be limited to “prescribed in England and dispensed in England”, that would also be acceptable._ The NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) received your request on 15 June 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 and a copy of the information is attached. Please read the below notes to ensure correct understanding of the data. 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 The data source was the NHSBSA Information Services Data Warehouse. ###Exclusions 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. * items supplied as part of a Pharmacy First consultation or service. ###Time Period Answers are based on April 2022 to March 2026 processing data, presented for months October 2022 - September 2025, with each data point using a window 6 months before and after the reporting month. ###Patient NHS Number Data is limited to prescriptions where an NHS number was captured, which accounts for 95.88% of all items for this data set. ###Drugs Limited to any products with the generic BNF code 0401010ADAAAAAA - Melatonin 2mg modified-release tablets ###Organisation Data Items have only been included if they have been prescribed in a primary care setting in England, regardless of where dispensed. ##Data Queries Please contact 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 . 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: Should you wish to re-use the information you must include the following statement: “NHSBSA Information Services Data Warehouse, 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.