FOI-02945

Thank you for your request for information about the following:

##Request

You asked us:

<i>I would like the same information as you provided in FOI 25464 when you supplied me with data on items dispensed by appliance contractor for a 36 month period to March 2022. Please refer to this request for the exact specification.
 
This time, however, we are hoping you could provide this data with additional location information. If possible, we would like this showing data at Postcode level. 
 
Please could you provide this for the 36 month period ending March 2025.</i>

The NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) received your request on 23 June 2025 

We requested clarification on 23 June 2025 for the below:

<i>We understand that you have been regularly requesting this data for some time. To ensure we provide you with an accurate response, and maintain an audit trail for our records, we kindly ask you to specify the details of your request in full. Additionally, please can you outline the exact requirements for future requests, as this will help us maintain a consistent and reliable service. Thank you for your cooperation.</i>

You responded on 18 July 2025:

<i>The request we have made historically is based on the data available in the 'Prescription Cost Analysis (PCA) Monthly Administrative Data' (https://opendata.nhsbsa.net/dataset/prescription-cost-analysis-pca-monthly-data), however, within this data Dispenser is only listed under their dispenser account type (English Pharmacy, English Dispensing Doctor, English Personal Administration or English Appliance Contractor) which doesn't provide us the level of information we are interested in - we are looking to have each Appliance Contractor separately.
 
We are also only interested in Chapters 21, 22 and 23.
 
I have attached an extract of the file you have been provided which shows the fields we wish to receive.

At this time, we are not looking to permanently deviate from the request we have been making quarterly, however would like to request a one off additional request which also includes further location data to see if this provides additional insights to answer some current questions. We can see within the 'Prescription Cost Analysis (PCA) Monthly Administrative Data' files, there is additional location data at ICB level; however ideally, we are looking for postcode detail as found in 'English Prescribing Dataset (EPD) with SNOMED code' datasets.</i>

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 and notes explaining it is attached.

Please read the below notes to ensure correct understanding of the data.

Dispensing at English Appliance Contractors for BNF Chapter 21 Appliances, 22 Incontinence Appliances and 23 Stoma Appliances at presentation level from April 2022 to March 2025

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

<b>Data Source: ePACT2</b>
Data in ePACT2 is sourced from the NHSBSA 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.
 
<b>The Data excludes:</b> 
• Items not dispensed, disallowed and those returned to the contractor for further clarification. <br>
• Prescriptions prescribed and dispensed in Prisons, Hospitals and Private prescriptions.<br>
• Items prescribed but not presented for dispensing or not submitted to NHS Prescription Services by the dispenser.
 
<b>Time Period:</b>
Monthly data from April 2022 to March 2025 split into 3 files. Part 1 April 2022 - March 2023, Part 2 April 2023 - March 2024 and Part 3 April 2024 – March 2025
 
<b>Organisation Data:</b>
The data is for prescriptions dispensed by Appliance Contractors in the community in England.
 
A date with the letter 'C' in brackets - example ( C 02-Jan-24 ) next to a contractor indicates that this organisation is closed or will close as of the date stated.
 
<b>BNF Code:</b>
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. Most of such items are dressings and appliances which NHS Prescription Services has classified into four pseudo BNF chapters (20 to 23).
 
<b>Data:</b>
This dataset is limited to the dispensing of products within BNF chapter 21 Appliances, chapter 22 Incontinence appliances and chapter 23 Stoma appliances at presentation level.
 
<b>Total quantity:</b>
Total quantity is the number of items multiplied by the quantity prescribed. 
e.g. 2 items prescribed, one with a quantity of 2 and one with a quantity of 3, the total quantity would show as 5 (1 item x quantity of 2) + (1 item x quantity of 3)
 
<b>Net Ingredient Cost (£):</b>
Net Ingredient cost (NIC) is the basic price of an appliance as stated in Part II Clause 8 of the Drug Tariff.

##Data Queries

Please contact <a href="mailto: foirequests@nhsbsa.nhs.uk">foirequests@nhsbsa.nhs.uk </a> 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 <a href="mailto: communicationsteam@nhsbsa.nhs.uk">communicationsteam@nhsbsa.nhs.uk</a>. 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 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.

Tags: NHS Prescription Services
Organization: Freedom of Information Disclosure Log