FOI-02840

Open Data Portal Request Request You asked us: I work for a medical device manufacturer and we are interested in some data which we have been made aware is available and has been given to some companies already. The data request would be for the following: Prescribing data by dispensers (Appliance contractors, pharmacies and dispensing doctors) – Prescription value (NIC) and quantity data by bnf code, practice and dispenser. How far back does the dataset go? Prescription Demographic data by age and gender - Prescription value (NIC) and quantity data by bnf code, sub-icb/practice, age and gender. Is this data also available by dispenser? How far back does the dataset go? The NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) received your request on Friday 16 May 2025. We have handled your request under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) 2000. On Wednesday 11 June 2025 you clarified: Apologies for being a bit vague. We are aware of data being available at the following detail levels: Prescribing data by dispensers since 2022 containing the below columns: BNF sections 2102, 2128 and 2202 – bnf code and bnf description columns Prescriber code, name and post code columns Dispenser code, name and post code columns Dispenser Type and parent dispenser Period NIC value, quantity and items Prescription Demographic data since 2022: Sub ICB (Ex CCG) code By Age range Gender BNF code – only need BNF sections 2102, 2128 and 2202 NIC value, quantity and items Open Data Portal Response Open Data Portal Response Our response I can confirm that the NHSBSA holds the information you have requested, and a copy has been published on our Freedom of Information disclosure log at: https://opendata.nhsbsa.net/dataset/foi-02840 Due to the large size of the files we cannot email these to you. 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. Open Data Portal Response Data Source The data source was the NHSBSA Information Services Data Warehouse. Exclusions 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 Data limited prescriptions submitted to NHSBSA for processing between January 2022 and April 2025 (latest available) Organisation Data Limited to prescribing and dispensing in England. Part 2 only has also been limited to prescribing within an SICBL environment. Our data includes prescribing and dispensing organisation codes Pharmacy and Appliance contractor addresses, postcodes and parent codes can be found here: https://www.odsdatasearchandexport.nhs.uk/ Look under Reports for "edispensary (Dispensaries, including Pharmacies)" Pharmacy Parent Codes can be looked up in a similar report "epharmacyhq (Pharmacy Headquarters Organisations)" Prescribing organisations Dispensing Doctors and Personally Administered Items organisations can be found in the report "epraccur (Prescribing Cost Centres, including GP Practices)" BNF Data 2128 Anal Irrigation System 2202 Anal Plugs 2102 Catheters Patient Age Taken from the age captured during processing of the prescription form Gender Patient gender has been reported using the latest patient gender information held by the NHSBSA Information Services data warehouse at the time that the data was extracted. This uses information from the last time that NHSBSA received data about the patient's gender from NHS Personal Demographics Service. Gender is either: Male, Female, Not Known (where no information is held) or Indeterminate (where information is held which does not confirm either Male or Female, intentionally or otherwise). This request has been split into two parts. Part one has been split into different files for each period. Part two has a single file of data. The data files are: FOI02840_part_1_202201.csv - 89,519 rows of data FOI02840_part_1_202202.csv - 85,405 rows of data FOI02840_part_1_202203.csv - 90,624 rows of data FOI02840_part_1_202204.csv - 82,663 rows of data FOI02840_part_1_202205.csv - 89,673 rows of data FOI02840_part_1_202206.csv - 87,654 rows of data FOI02840_part_1_202207.csv - 88,435 rows of data FOI02840_part_1_202208.csv - 84,318 rows of data FOI02840_part_1_202209.csv - 90,694 rows of data FOI02840_part_1_202210.csv - 90,062 rows of data FOI02840_part_1_202211.csv - 89,982 rows of data FOI02840_part_1_202212.csv - 90,951 rows of data FOI02840_part_1_202301.csv - 93,334 rows of data FOI02840_part_1_202302.csv - 85,326 rows of data FOI02840_part_1_202303.csv - 94,748 rows of data FOI02840_part_1_202304.csv - 85,696 rows of data FOI02840_part_1_202305.csv - 91,286 rows of data FOI02840_part_1_202306.csv - 93,787 rows of data FOI02840_part_1_202307.csv - 92,025 rows of data FOI02840_part_1_202308.csv - 92,932 rows of data FOI02840_part_1_202309.csv - 91,596 rows of data FOI02840_part_1_202310.csv - 88,167 rows of data FOI02840_part_1_202311.csv - 93,353 rows of data FOI02840_part_1_202312.csv - 93,371 rows of data FOI02840_part_1_202401.csv - 95,166 rows of data FOI02840_part_1_202402.csv - 90,706 rows of data FOI02840_part_1_202403.csv - 91,482 rows of data FOI02840_part_1_202404.csv - 95,292 rows of data FOI02840_part_1_202405.csv - 94,225 rows of data FOI02840_part_1_202406.csv - 91,381 rows of data FOI02840_part_1_202407.csv - 97,934 rows of data FOI02840_part_1_202408.csv - 96,512 rows of data FOI02840_part_1_202409.csv - 96,339 rows of data FOI02840_part_1_202410.csv - 102,069 rows of data FOI02840_part_1_202411.csv - 95,435 rows of data FOI02840_part_1_202412.csv - 96,242 rows of data FOI02840_part_1_202501.csv - 100,866 rows of data FOI02840_part_1_202502.csv - 94,408 rows of data FOI02840_part_1_202503.csv - 97,192 rows of data FOI02840_part_1_202504.csv - 93,835 rows of data FOI02840_part_2.csv - 172,565 rows of data Publishing and Copyright Publishing this response Please note that this information will be published on our Freedom of Information disclosure log at: https://opendata.nhsbsa.net/dataset/foi-02840 Your personal details will be removed from the published response. 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: “Data Warehouse, NHSBSA Copyright 2025”. 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.